At last year’s E3 Microsoft unveiled the New Xbox Experience Dashboard Update which promised many new and exciting features along with a completely new interface. One of the new features that was promised was the Xbox Live Prime Time Channel where people could take part in live events like game shows. Recently Canada got its first taste of this new feature thanks to the 1 Vs. 100 Beta which debuted on Friday May 8^th.

For those that may not be familiar with it, 1 Vs. 100 is a popular game show where one player competes as “The One” and faces off against 100 other people, known as “The Mob”. The object of the game is for The One to answer trivia questions correctly. The Mob is also answering these same questions. At the end of each question the correct and incorrect answers are tallied. Anyone in The Mob who answered the question incorrectly is eliminated. The more members of The Mob that are eliminated the higher the potential prize that The One can win. If The One answers one question incorrectly he or she loses and The Mob splits the prize amongst those that remain. Throughout the round, The One is given the choice of “The Money or The Mob”. They may take the money and end the round, or choose The Mob and continue to answer questions and build the prize pot.

1 Vs. 100 on Xbox Live works almost exactly the same as the TV program does. You may be chosen as part of The Mob, or as The One. If you’re not picked for either of these roles then you will play the game from The Crowd. People in The Crowd answer the same questions, and will be scored based on how quickly and often that they give correct answers. This also factors into how likely they are to be selected for either The Mob or The One.

The questions that you’ll have to answer range widely. There are a number of categories that we’ve seen thus far. There are the usual suspects like Science, Technology, Movies, Music, and TV. There are also some other categories that deal with Pop Culture and The Internet. One question in particular was “Who was the first person to reach 1,000,000 followers on Twitter?” This didn’t happen very long ago, only a few weeks ago in fact, which means that the questions can be updated easily. Having fresh questions always helps to keep a trivia game from getting old.

That’s the really interesting thing about 1 Vs. 100 on Xbox Live; the potential to win real prizes. They may be Microsoft Points or Arcade titles, or could even be larger sweepstakes prizes. The unique thing here is that something like this, an interactive game show with thousands of players at a time has never been tried before. Another unique twist is that these shows run on a schedule and are hosted by a real live human host. The result is something that should feel more like being on a game show and less like playing a game based on one.

The beta had a few issues here and there, but for the most part it worked rather well. The Host, Chris Cashmen didn’t come in as often as he probably should have, and when he did come in he ended up getting cut off most of the time. This is still early days, and likely something that will get sorted out. During this beta period, neither The One nor The Mob could win prizes, which made the Money or Mob option moot, but it is a good indication of where this sort of live show could go.

The important thing to keep in mind is that this opens up the possibility for other interesting Live social events to take place over the Prime Time Channel. Other game shows like The Price is Right would probably work out very well in this setting. Microsoft could also use the Channel to premiere Movies or Concerts, or perhaps their E3 Press Briefing.

We’ll have to wait and see what the general public thinks of this new feature, but one thing we won’t have to do is pay to play it. Xbox Live Gold members will have access to 1 Vs. 100 for free. Each show will run for several weeks, much like a TV show’s season. Each season will give players the possibility to unlock 200 Gamerscore points. Expect 1 Vs. 100 and the Prime Time Channel to launch later this Spring.

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About This Author: Filippo Dinolfo

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