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1 vs. 100 (Xbox 360)
Encyclopedia
1 vs. 100 was a massively multiplayer online
Xbox Live
adaptation of the trivia game show of the same name
.
in North America and James McCourt in the UK, and places a single contestant as "The One" against a group of 100 that make up "The Mob", with the rest of the players making up "The Crowd". The One has the opportunity to win up to 10,000 Microsoft points
, credited to their Xbox Live account, while the remaining members of The Mob divide up the winnings and each win an Xbox Live Arcade game
if they are able to eliminate The One. The top three players in The Crowd win the XBLA game as well.
The hosts and players were represented by Xbox Live Avatars. The game was free to all Xbox Live gold subscribers and was supported by advertising revenue. Seasons lasting 13 weeks consisted of various 30-minute extended play sessions followed by live two-hour episodes airing Tuesday and Friday.
Season 2 of 1 vs. 100 began on November 19, 2009 in France, Germany, the United States and Canada, and on November 20, 2009 in the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland.
On July 15, 2010, Microsoft confirmed that 1 vs. 100 will not return for a third season.
At the beginning of each 1 vs. 100 Live round, a player is selected as "The One" and 100 players are selected to be "The Mob". Everyone else remains in "The Crowd". Selection is based on weekly, round, and season (lifetime) score.
The game's rules are nearly identical to the game show's: a question is posed, and both The One and The Mob must select an answer from three choices. If The One gets the question wrong, the game is over and the prize money is split up amongst The Mob. If The One gets the answer right, members of The Mob who got the question wrong are eliminated. The payout goes up for every tenth member of The Mob eliminated. The One can opt to quit with their winnings at various intervals, or press their luck and continue on.
The Live version adds the notion of "The Crowd", which allows hundreds of thousands of players to compete alongside The Mob and The One. The top three members of The Crowd win an Xbox Live Arcade game
. The Crowd represents one of the three "helps" available to the one, which can be used at any time to lock in their answer. If The One fails to answer the first three questions, the helps are automatically used. The helps are:
The better a member of The Crowd does, the better chance they have of being selected to be a part of The Mob or The One. Selection is based upon statistics for speed, accuracy, and the number of questions answered for that week. A player can only be chosen as The One once per season and as a member of The Mob once per Primetime episode. Each season will give players an opportunity to earn another 200 gamerscore.
The live host is voice actor and comedian Chris Cashman
in the US and Canada and James McCourt in the UK and Ireland . The UK and Ireland version, however, does not have a live host for Season 2.
Jen Taylor
in the US and Canada and Olivia Lee
in the UK and Ireland (both prerecorded) present the questions and count down The Mob as they are eliminated. Statistic breaks occur every few questions when the live host provides color commentary about The One and their performance. Guests are interviewed on the show and have included Major Nelson
, Taking Back Sunday
, Cliff Bleszinski
and Felicia Day
. Live telephone calls are placed to participants and broadcast during the breaks as are 30-second advertisements from sponsors.
A selected theme were aired on a weekly basis, ranging from an hour to hour and a half long. In Season 2, 5 different Featured Episodes were introduced:
1 Family Theme:
2 Fanboy Night:
3 Lifestyle:
4 Entertainment:
5 Sports:
Bronstein commented that Microsoft met with the producers of the popular television game shows American Idol
and Survivor
before partnering with Endemol
and choosing 1 vs. 100 "because of its social elements." Joerg Bachmaier, senior VP of digital media for Endemol said "We see [the Xbox Live version] as a replication of the show on another platform... Except now it's more active. Nobody is just sitting back and watching."
Microsoft has stated that the first season of the game would be a "pilot season". Future seasons were dependent upon the success of the show's ability to generate advertiser revenue. Sprint
and Honda
each paid around $1 million to become primary sponsors of the first season and Microsoft is trying to sell additional one-off or occasional commercial spots.
An open beta was made available to Canadian subscribers with a gold subscription from May 8 through May 24, 2009. The open beta was re-opened and extended to subscribers in the USA on June 1, 2009. Though it was still in beta, on July 10, Microsoft began awarding actual prizes in the North American beta (previously players testing the game simply earned entries into a sweepstakes
). They also confirmed that the beta season that commenced June 1 would last 13 weeks. The beta season for both the US and Canada ended on August 31, 2009.
The open beta for the United Kingdom began on July 10, 2009, and both Germany and France began on July 12, 2009.
Based on input from the first season, changes were incorporated into the game for the second season. The player selected as "The One" was found to receive a plethora of messages when they were playing, and thus in the second season, "The One" had their online status set to "Busy", preventing these messages from distracting the player. "The One" also entered the virtual set in a more dramatic fashion.
and Jerry Holkins
of the Penny Arcade
gaming webcomic both commended the game for its authentic game-show atmosphere and its natural-feeling extension of social avatar-based gaming, compared with the perceived flaws in Sony's PlayStation Home
service.
The game was downloaded over 2.5 million times, and its success has led Microsoft to extend its beta season for two additional weeks. Microsoft claims that the North American version of the game surpassed the Guinness world record for "most contestants in a game show" with over 114,000 simultaneous players.
Massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games played on...
Xbox Live
Xbox Live
Xbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
adaptation of the trivia game show of the same name
1 vs. 100
1 vs. 100 is a game show created by Endemol that is aired in several countries. The game pits one person against 100 others for a chance to win a large cash prize. The game first aired in the Netherlands as Eén tegen 100, sponsored by the Nationale Postcode Loterij .- General format :In all...
.
Summary
There were two versions of the game, referred to as 1 vs. 100 Live and 1 vs. 100 Extended Play. The Live version was hosted by Chris CashmanChris Cashman
Christopher Andrew Cashman is an American comedian, voice actor, and Northwest Regional Emmy winner. He is the son of well-known Seattle comic Pat Cashman....
in North America and James McCourt in the UK, and places a single contestant as "The One" against a group of 100 that make up "The Mob", with the rest of the players making up "The Crowd". The One has the opportunity to win up to 10,000 Microsoft points
Microsoft Points
Microsoft Points are the currency of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Games for Windows - Live Marketplace, Windows Live Gallery, and Zune online stores. The points allow users to purchase content without a credit card and to reduce the number of small credit card transaction fees, which Microsoft would...
, credited to their Xbox Live account, while the remaining members of The Mob divide up the winnings and each win an Xbox Live Arcade game
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
if they are able to eliminate The One. The top three players in The Crowd win the XBLA game as well.
The hosts and players were represented by Xbox Live Avatars. The game was free to all Xbox Live gold subscribers and was supported by advertising revenue. Seasons lasting 13 weeks consisted of various 30-minute extended play sessions followed by live two-hour episodes airing Tuesday and Friday.
Season 2 of 1 vs. 100 began on November 19, 2009 in France, Germany, the United States and Canada, and on November 20, 2009 in the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland.
On July 15, 2010, Microsoft confirmed that 1 vs. 100 will not return for a third season.
Gameplay
| Mob left | The One | The Mob |
|---|---|---|
| 100-91 | 0 | 0 |
| 90-81 | 160 | 0 |
| 80-71 | 300 | 0 |
| 70-61 | 600 | 0† |
| 60-51 | 800 | 0† |
| 50-41 | 1,200 | 0† |
| 40-31 | 2,000 | 80† |
| 30-21 | 3,000 | 160† |
| 20-11 | 5,000 | 400† |
| 10-1 | 6,000 | 800† |
| 0 | 10,000 | N/A |
Due to gaming laws, players in CT Connecticut Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately... , IA Iowa Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New... , MD Maryland Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east... , VT Vermont Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England... , or Quebec Quebec Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level.... are ineligible for prizes. |
||
At the beginning of each 1 vs. 100 Live round, a player is selected as "The One" and 100 players are selected to be "The Mob". Everyone else remains in "The Crowd". Selection is based on weekly, round, and season (lifetime) score.
The game's rules are nearly identical to the game show's: a question is posed, and both The One and The Mob must select an answer from three choices. If The One gets the question wrong, the game is over and the prize money is split up amongst The Mob. If The One gets the answer right, members of The Mob who got the question wrong are eliminated. The payout goes up for every tenth member of The Mob eliminated. The One can opt to quit with their winnings at various intervals, or press their luck and continue on.
The Live version adds the notion of "The Crowd", which allows hundreds of thousands of players to compete alongside The Mob and The One. The top three members of The Crowd win an Xbox Live Arcade game
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
. The Crowd represents one of the three "helps" available to the one, which can be used at any time to lock in their answer. If The One fails to answer the first three questions, the helps are automatically used. The helps are:
- Trust the Mob - The One's answer becomes whatever the majority of The Mob answered.
- Trust the Crowd - The One's answer becomes whatever the majority of The Crowd answered.
- Trust the Top 10 - The One's answer becomes whatever a majority of the 10 top scoring players in the current round answered from the crowd or mob. (In the first season, this was known as "Trust the Brain" which took the answer from the top performing player)
The better a member of The Crowd does, the better chance they have of being selected to be a part of The Mob or The One. Selection is based upon statistics for speed, accuracy, and the number of questions answered for that week. A player can only be chosen as The One once per season and as a member of The Mob once per Primetime episode. Each season will give players an opportunity to earn another 200 gamerscore.
Hosts and live features
Chris Cashman
Christopher Andrew Cashman is an American comedian, voice actor, and Northwest Regional Emmy winner. He is the son of well-known Seattle comic Pat Cashman....
in the US and Canada and James McCourt in the UK and Ireland . The UK and Ireland version, however, does not have a live host for Season 2.
Jen Taylor
Jen Taylor
Jennifer Lee "Jen" Taylor is an American voice actress best known for her role as Cortana in various Halo games and the Xbox 360 game "1 vs. 100".-Voice work:...
in the US and Canada and Olivia Lee
Olivia Lee
Olivia Lee is an English comedienne, actress and television presenter.-Life and career:Lee is from a Jewish family. She studied acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama...
in the UK and Ireland (both prerecorded) present the questions and count down The Mob as they are eliminated. Statistic breaks occur every few questions when the live host provides color commentary about The One and their performance. Guests are interviewed on the show and have included Major Nelson
Larry Hryb
Lawrence "Larry" Hryb , also known by his Xbox Live gamertag Major Nelson, is the Director of Programming for the Microsoft gaming network Xbox Live. His blog "Xbox Live's Major Nelson" provides an "inside" look at operations at Microsoft's Xbox division. He picked the gamertag Major Nelson after a...
, Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday
Taking Back Sunday is a rock band from Long Island, NY, formed in 1999 by guitarist Eddie Reyes. Current members of the band are Adam Lazzara , John Nolan , Eddie Reyes , Shaun Cooper and Mark O'Connell ....
, Cliff Bleszinski
Cliff Bleszinski
Clifford Michael "Cliff" Bleszinski is the design director for the game development company Epic Games in Cary, North Carolina. He is most famous for his continuing hand in the development of the Unreal franchise, especially 1999's Unreal Tournament, and the Gears of War franchise...
and Felicia Day
Felicia Day
Kathryn Felicia Day is an American actress, known for her work as "Vi" on the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and for parts in movies such as Bring It On Again and June, as well as the Internet musical, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog...
. Live telephone calls are placed to participants and broadcast during the breaks as are 30-second advertisements from sponsors.
Extended Play sessions
The Extended Play version eliminates The One and the crowd and simply has all players compete as a member of The Mob of limitless size. It is typically a 30 minute show with 37 total questions. While there are no prizes during Extended Play, a player's participation contributes to the chance that they will be selected to join The Mob, or be The One during the next Live episode. Players are able to submit questions to be considered for inclusion in the Extended Play mode of the game via a web interface.A selected theme were aired on a weekly basis, ranging from an hour to hour and a half long. In Season 2, 5 different Featured Episodes were introduced:
1 Family Theme:
- Genres were ranged from History, In the Classroom, Kids' TV and Animals. The color of the theme is yellow.
2 Fanboy Night:
- Topics included in this theme were Technology and Gadgets, Video Games, Comics and Anime. The color of the theme is dark purple.
3 Lifestyle:
- Community written questions, He Said-She Said, In The News, Pop culture between 80's and 90's were themed in this theme. The color of the theme is red-orange.
4 Entertainment:
- Movie Quotes, Finish The Lyrics, Gossips and recently added Vampires are the category of this theme. The color of the theme is bright red vide.
5 Sports:
- As there is no defined parts for this genre, Players will expect questions to be asked regarding to national or international, solo or team sports, basic rules or variations. The color of the theme is green.
Development
Manuel Bronstein, director of 1 vs. 100 for Microsoft Studios, describes the game as the realization of Microsoft's "vision for programmatic interactive experiences" delivered via Xbox Live Primetime. The game was due to be released in November 2008 with the "New Xbox Experience" update but it was delayed (as was the rest of the planned Primetime content). While fairly simple in visual appearance, Bronstein explained that the game was in development for more than a year because of technical hurdles, noting that making sure "hundreds of thousands of people see the host and answer the questions at the exact same time and handling prizes and all the things associated with cheating made for an interesting technical challenge."Bronstein commented that Microsoft met with the producers of the popular television game shows American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
and Survivor
Survivor (TV series)
Survivor is a reality television game show format produced in many countries throughout the world. In the show, contestants are isolated in the wilderness and compete for cash and other prizes. The show uses a system of progressive elimination, allowing the contestants to vote off other tribe...
before partnering with Endemol
Endemol
Endemol is an international television production and distribution company based in the Netherlands, with subsidiaries and joint ventures in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Poland,...
and choosing 1 vs. 100 "because of its social elements." Joerg Bachmaier, senior VP of digital media for Endemol said "We see [the Xbox Live version] as a replication of the show on another platform... Except now it's more active. Nobody is just sitting back and watching."
Microsoft has stated that the first season of the game would be a "pilot season". Future seasons were dependent upon the success of the show's ability to generate advertiser revenue. Sprint
Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel Corporation is an American telecommunications company based in Overland Park, Kansas. The company owns and operates Sprint, the third largest wireless telecommunications network in the United States, with 53.4 million customers, behind Verizon Wireless and AT&T Mobility...
and Honda
Honda
is a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
each paid around $1 million to become primary sponsors of the first season and Microsoft is trying to sell additional one-off or occasional commercial spots.
An open beta was made available to Canadian subscribers with a gold subscription from May 8 through May 24, 2009. The open beta was re-opened and extended to subscribers in the USA on June 1, 2009. Though it was still in beta, on July 10, Microsoft began awarding actual prizes in the North American beta (previously players testing the game simply earned entries into a sweepstakes
Sweepstakes
The United States consumer sales promotion known as a sweepstake has become associated with marketing promotions targeted toward both generating enthusiasm and providing incentive reactions among customers by enticing consumers to submit free entries into drawings of chance...
). They also confirmed that the beta season that commenced June 1 would last 13 weeks. The beta season for both the US and Canada ended on August 31, 2009.
The open beta for the United Kingdom began on July 10, 2009, and both Germany and France began on July 12, 2009.
Based on input from the first season, changes were incorporated into the game for the second season. The player selected as "The One" was found to receive a plethora of messages when they were playing, and thus in the second season, "The One" had their online status set to "Busy", preventing these messages from distracting the player. "The One" also entered the virtual set in a more dramatic fashion.
Reception
Yahoo Games reported they "found it very hard to put down the controller" in a play test offered to the press and said while it may not necessarily "revolutionise primetime entertainment ... given the right kind of publicity, Microsoft could really have a winner on its hands.". Mike KrahulikMike Krahulik
Mike Krahulik is the artist for the popular webcomic Penny Arcade and co-founder with Jerry Holkins of Child's Play, a multimillion dollar charity that organizes toy drives for children's hospitals. He goes by the online moniker "Jon Gabriel" or "Gabe"...
and Jerry Holkins
Jerry Holkins
Keith Gerald "Jerry" Holkins né Parkinson is the writer of the webcomic Penny Arcade and co-founder of Child's Play, a multimillion dollar charity that organizes toy drives for children's hospitals...
of the Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade (webcomic)
Penny Arcade is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website loonygames.com. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have established their own site, which is typically updated with a new comic...
gaming webcomic both commended the game for its authentic game-show atmosphere and its natural-feeling extension of social avatar-based gaming, compared with the perceived flaws in Sony's PlayStation Home
PlayStation Home
PlayStation Home is a virtual 3D social gaming network developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's London Studio for the PlayStation 3 on the PlayStation Network . It is available directly from the PlayStation 3 XrossMediaBar under PlayStation Network. Membership is free, and only requires a PSN...
service.
The game was downloaded over 2.5 million times, and its success has led Microsoft to extend its beta season for two additional weeks. Microsoft claims that the North American version of the game surpassed the Guinness world record for "most contestants in a game show" with over 114,000 simultaneous players.