Actual success, successful failure, and unsuccessful epic failure

On game shows, success denotes winning a lot of money and/or other prizes, whereas failure denotes losing horribly and winning little or no money or prizes. If the failure is particularly bad, the internet often declares it to be an epic fail (grammatically incorrect noun), epic failure (grammatically correct noun), or to have fail(ed) epically (grammatically correct verb), which, in internet slang, is when something goes horribly wrong, and could have been prevented if the person who committed the failure had just done the right thing. On Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? specifically, losing horribly can mean one of two things, but before failure can be defined, success must be defined first.
 * On Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, success is generally defined as a contestant winning the monetary amount of question 10 (usually worth 32,000 units of the local currency) or greater and not subsequently losing the vast majority of his/her winnings on a much higher-level question, whereas failure can be defined in one of two ways:
 * A type 1 failure is when a contestant gives a wrong answer to one of the first 5 questions and leaves with absolutely nothing at all (see Wrong answer before first safe level).
 * A type 2 failure is when a contestant gives a wrong answer to one of the last 2 questions and suffers a devastating, if not catastrophic, massive loss of prize money (usually 218,000 units of the local currency on question 14, and 468,000 units on question 15); in addition, losing on the 15th and final question results in the dreaded Million pound lose cue.

It should be noted that losing horribly in either manner is considered to be extremely humiliating, and in the age of the modern day internet, any contestant who loses horribly in either manner is guaranteed to be uploaded to YouTube, where they will be harassed and cyberbullied mercilessly and endlessly by online users who will post nasty comments to their video.

See Category:Empty-handed for a list of contestants who went away with nothing. See Category:Penultimate question fail for a list of contestants who lost on the 14th and penultimate question. See Category:Final question fail for a list of contestants who lost on the 15th and final question.

Causes of failure
There are two root causes of failure:
 * Cause #1: No room for error - It only takes one wrong answer to terminate the contestant's game. The show gives the contestants Lifelines in order to prevent them from committing an error, but once they commit an error, that's it; it's all over.
 * Cause #2: All-or-nothing, high-stakes, high-risk gambling format - if a contestant gives a wrong answer, not only are they out of the game, but they also lose all of their winnings. At the beginning of the game, there is no prize just for making it into the hot seat, so if a contestant gives a wrong answer within the first 5 questions, they leave with absolutely nothing at all. Questions 5 and 10 are safe-haven milestones that guarantee the monetary amounts for those questions if the contestant gives the right answer to those questions (usually 1,000 units of the local currency for question 5, and 32,000 units for question 10). As they progress through the game, the higher the stakes rise, and the higher the risks rise, with the losses becoming increasingly severe if they give a wrong answer the later they progress through the game. Below is a rating index for the severity of losses for the last 5 questions, using the classic UK amounts:
 * Question 11: £64,000 - No loss; the contestant stays at £32,000
 * Question 12: £125,000 - Some loss; the contestant loses £32,000
 * Question 13: £250,000 - Extensive loss; the contestant loses £93,000
 * Question 14: £500,000 - Devastating loss; the contestant loses £218,000
 * Question 15: £1 million - Catastrophic loss; the contestant loses £468,000

It is these two rules, the lack of any room for error and the loss of all winnings when they give just one wrong answer, that have sentenced so many contestants to game show infamy, and a lifetime of humiliation on YouTube.

In addition, below are the top 6 secondary reasons why contestants lose horribly on the show: counting down from 6 to 1: Misspeaking and/or speaking too fast can be made even worse when the contestant is placed on an extremely tight time limit, as was the case in Lovi Yu's situation.
 * Reason #6: Because they misspoke or spoke too fast on an easy question
 * Example 1: Paul Weir Galm, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (U.S. version), syndication
 * Example 2: Lovi Yu, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (U.S. version), syndication


 * Example 3: Jennifer Starks, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (U.S. version), primetime


 * Reason #5: Because they did not read the question properly
 * Example 1: Stan Wu, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (U.S. version), primetime
 * Example 2: Whitney Beseler, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Hot Seat (Australia)


 * Reason #4: Because they second-guessed their instincts on a harder question
 * Example: Kati Knudsen, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (U.S. version), primetime
 * Reason #3: Because they could not think straight under pressure
 * Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is not just a test of general knowledge, but also a test of one's ability to think straight under pressure, which is not easy when you're on television in front of a live studio audience, and with millions more watching at home. In addition, the rules of the game, which state that there is no room for error and that you lose all of your winnings if you give just one wrong answer put even more pressure on the contestant. The pressure of the game may sometimes cause contestants to forget the right answers to the questions that they are facing once they get into the hot seat. And in cases where a time limit is applied, the game also tests one's ability to think fast, because if they don't beat the clock, the game is over, and depending on the rules, they may either be forced to walk away with whatever winnings they have won, or be penalized as if they gave a wrong answer and have their winnings dropped.
 * Reason #2: Because they did not use their lifelines properly
 * Example: Ken Basin, Ask the Audience lifeline, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? 10th Anniversary Primetime Celebration
 * Reason #1: Because they simply did not know the answers
 * As UK host Chris Tarrant would always say when a contestant came dangerously close to flunking out within the first 5 questions and leaving with nothing, "the questions are only easy if you know the answers," and when a contestant does leave with nothing, he states that, "it was just such a shame that they did not know on that occasion." It's not that anyone who leaves with nothing is stupid; they just did not know the answers to the particular questions that they were presented with. At home, the at home viewing public may know the answers to the questions that the contestant on the show is facing, but once they get into the hot seat themselves, what they should know is the answers to the questions that they are presented with.

Success rates and notable successes around the world

 * In terms of the number of Top Prize Winners, the Japanese version is the most successful version.
 * The U.S. primetime version had 9 millionaires; the U.S. syndicated version had 3 millionaires. All of the millionaires were regular, ordinary contestants, and no celebrity contestant has ever won $1 million; the highest amount ever achieved by any celebrity contestant on the U.S. version is $500,000, which has occurred only a few times.
 * The UK version had 5 millionaires, excluding Charles Ingram, who achieved his £1 million victory by cheating, and was stripped of his winnings. As with the U.S. version, all of the millionaires were regular, ordinary contestants; the highest amount ever achieved by any celebrity duo is £500,000, which occurred only once: Laurence and Jackie Llewellyn Bowen were the only celebrity duo to walk away with £500,000. It should be noted that when they went for the million, they originally got it wrong and lost £468,000, but were later given a second chance, because their original £1 million question turned out to have a significant flaw, in that it was ambiguous, because it technically had two right answers. They decided not to risk it again and walked away with £500,000. It should also be noted that celebrities winning the top prize in any country are extremely rare; in most cases, the highest amount that any celebrity contestant usually achieves is the monetary value for question 14 (usually 500,000 units of the local currency).
 * The original Australian version had 2 millionaires.
 * The current Hot Seat format Australian version has 1 millionaire so far; prior to that, the show went through 6 Top Prize Losers.
 * The Indian version has 6 top prize winners.
 * On the current Russian version, the top prize has been won 6 times.
 * In Germany, there have been 14 top prize winners.

Failure rates and notable failures around the world

 * In terms of the number of Top Prize Losers, the Japanese version is equally as notorious for its type 2 failures as it is for its successes, because while many contestants have won on the final question, many others have lost on the final question. Japan is also notorious for its type 1 failures as well; numerous contestants have flunked out on one of the first 5 questions and left the show with nothing. In addition, with the new Super Millionaire format, there are no guaranteed sums, so contestants who gave a wrong answer at any point in the game left with absolutely nothing at all because of this new rule.
 * On the UK version, failures of both types were extremely rare; fewer than 10 contestants left the show with nothing, and only two contestants flunked out on the £500,000 question and lost £218,000; technically, no one has ever flunked out on the £1 million question and lost £468,000, because the one time that it happened, which happened to celebrity contestants Laurence and Jackie Llewellyn Bowen, the question turned out to have a significant flaw, in that it was ambiguous, because it technically had two right answers. They were later invited back to play a second £1 million question, and this time, they decided not to risk it again and walked away with £500,000.
 * The U.S. version is notorious for its type 1 failures; numerous contestants have flunked out within the first 5 questions and left with nothing, with a significant number of them having fallen at the very first hurdle. Type 2 failures were rarer, but they have happened; a smaller, but sizeable number of contestants, both on the primetime and the syndicated versions, have flunked out on the $500,000 question, and at the 10th anniversary celebration, Ken Basin became the first contestant to flunk out on the $1 million question.
 * The original Australian version produced the first recorded case of a celebrity contestant to win nothing, U.S. Survivor contestant Richard Hatch, who flunked out on his $500 question. Worldwide, cases of celebrity contestants winning nothing are extremely rare, but they have occasionally happened. On the U.S. primetime version, every celebrity contestant was guaranteed $32,000 regardless of their performance in the hot seat, and regardless if they even made it into the hot seat at all, but outside the U.S., celebrities are not guaranteed any money for charity, meaning that it is possible for a celebrity to win nothing. Contestants who have won nothing internationally often have won nothing because of a new "extra high risk" format that disallows safe-haven milestones; contestants flunking out within the first 5 questions are very rare. Domestically, within Australia, Hatch was the first of three $0 winners on the traditional format of the show.
 * On the Australian Hot Seat format of the show, flunking out within the first 5 questions became much more common, and there were 6 million dollar question losers who left with only a measly $1,000, leading to superstitions of a Hot Seat curse, before Edwin Daly finally broke the curse by giving the right answer to his $1 million question, ending the curse.
 * On the very first episode of the New Zealand version of the show, the very first contestant to sit in the hot seat, Courtney Washington, left with nothing after flunking out on her $500 question.
 * On the Indian version, only two contestants have given a wrong answer to the final question, but many others have given a wrong answer to one of the first 5 questions.
 * On the Russian version, a small number of contestants have flunked out on one of the first 5 questions, but with the new "extra high risk" format, in which there are no guaranteed sums, some contestants left with nothing after flunking out within the next 10 questions.
 * In Germany, only one contestant has ever given a wrong answer to the final question, and would end up leaving with only a measly €500, but a significant number of contestants have left with nothing due to the game's new "extra high risk" format. However, one notable contestant who flunked out within the first 5 questions was Tanja Fuß, who fell at the very first hurdle.

Trivia

 * In internet slang, due to an internet meme, the word fail is often used as a nominalized interjectory noun, as opposed to a verb, the way the word is traditionally supposed to be used; traditionally, the word fail denotes being unsuccessful or falling short of expectations, but as an internet meme, it is used as a derisive label to slap on a miscue that is eminently mockable in its stupidity or wrongheadedness. Writing packed with nominalizations is commonly regarded by academic professionals as slovenly, obfuscatory, pretentious or merely ugly. The term flunk is a synonym for the word fail as the word is properly used.