VIDEO & ARCADE TOP 10 (1991 - 2008)

Before YouTube and Twitch,  ‘Video & Arcade Top 10’ was the ultimate source for gamers

Long before millions of viewers turned to YouTube or Twitch to watch gamers compete in “Fortnite” and “League of Legends,” there was Video & Arcade Top 10.

The Canadian game show on YTV aired from 1992 to 2008 and featured contestants going head to head in popular Nintendo games.

“Video & Arcade Top 10” (or V&A) also featured reviews and profiles on various games, music videos and TV shows. 

Filmed in front of a live studio audience in Toronto, the taping schedule was a relentless one with up to six or seven episodes being filmed in a row.

Nicholas Picholas, who is now a radio host in Buffalo, NY, hosted the show. 

Without the thousands of hours of video game streaming and dedicated sites available on games today, “Video & Arcade Top 10” was a hit amongst Canadian youth. Picholas recalls receiving thousands of letters each week from across the country.

Picholas recently told Vice some of the games featured on the show were so new the players often had trouble getting past the first level and assistants would have to intervene to help them. 

The revered host still gets messages from fans who want gaming tips and says whenever he returns to Canada he still gets recognized.

“We cross the border (into Canada), and I get the weirdest stares. I’ll walk through an IKEA, and a guy who is 33 years old will stare at me like I’m from a wanted poster. And then I will see it click. Yeah I’m that guy,” Picholas told CGM in October 2013.