Additional Coverage:
- Jeopardy! viewers ‘p-ssed off’ over ‘absolutely ridiculous’ call by host Ken Jennings (themirror.com)
Jeopardy! Ruling on Video Game Clue Stirs Controversy
A recent *Jeopardy! * episode sparked online debate after host Ken Jennings refused to accept two contestants’ answers to a video game clue.
The clue, under the category “From The Video Game Manual,” asked for the N64 game with the quote, “Recover the pirate helicopter & get to the bottom of this. You are licensed to kill.”
Contestant Paolo Pasco first buzzed in with “GoldenEye,” which Jennings deemed insufficiently specific. Pasco then tried “James Bond: GoldenEye,” but Jennings still declined to award the points. Fellow contestant Steven Olson then offered “007 GoldenEye,” which was also rejected.
Jennings explained that the correct answer was “GoldenEye 007,” noting that “GoldenEye” referred to the movie. This ruling quickly drew criticism online, with many viewers arguing that “GoldenEye” was the commonly used title for the game, even appearing alone on the title screen.
Some cited examples of *Jeopardy! * accepting shortened titles for books, questioning the need to differentiate the game from the movie, especially given the clue’s category.
One Reddit user pointed out that the game manual itself uses both “GOLDENEYE 007” and “THE GOLDENEYE STORY,” further fueling the debate. Others expressed frustration over what they perceived as inconsistencies in *Jeopardy!
*’s answer acceptance, referencing past video game clues that had caused similar controversy. Some even called for the show to consult with a video game expert to avoid such issues in the future.