A DVD TV game (or DVDi, "DVD interactive") is a standalone game that can be played on a set-top DVD player. The game takes advantage of technology built into the DVD format to create an interactive gaming environment compatible with most DVD players without requiring additional hardware. This technology has already been used for gaming, advertising, music, education, and corporate training.

History

DVD TV games were first developed in the late 1990s, and reached the end consumer around the end of the decade. They were poorly received and understood as an entertainment medium. In 1997 Digital Leisure was formed and started producing a version of the popular Laserdisc game Dragon's Lair on DVD.

In 2002, Screenlife introduced the first DVD board game with the Scene It? Movie Edition. Since then, Screenlife has sold over 15 million games, and has more than 20 titles in its collection. Scene It? is distributed to the mass channel through Mattel and has many other popular licenses, such as American Idol, Thomas and Friends and Banzai. Screenlife Games is considered the front-runner of the overall DVD Game market, having pioneered the category and has won numerous international awards in design, production and authoring since its first release.

Imagination Games are the leaders in DVD Games with 5 of their titles in the top 10. Titles include Deal or No Deal, Family Feud and Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Imagination Games recently won the Stevie Award for Most Innovative Company Under 2,500 employees in both the USA and Asia Pacific.

In 2007, MGA Entertainment released a DVD Game version of the popular television game show Jeopardy!. The game featured host Alex Trebek, 3 wireless buzzers and a plugin unit for your DVD player that keeps score. They had previously released the hit DVD Game version of the $100,000 Pyramid and have announced they will release a Wheel of Fortune DVD Game in 2008.

Companies producing DVD TV games:

* Screenlife
* Imagination Games
* Snap TV
* The Cannery
* CIRCUS
* Digital Leisure
* Hasbro
* Hirameki
* Lean Forward Media
* Little Worlds Studio
* MusicandBrands
* MGA Entertainment
* Vision Wise Inc
* ZyX * ZOO Digital Group