Microsoft cans 1 vs. 100 on Xbox Live

By Tom Bramwell Published 15 July, 2010

Will use tech to power future projects.

Microsoft has announced that 1 vs. 100 will not be returning for a third season.

Instead the team behind the Xbox Live-based game show will try to apply the technology to new projects.

"When we started on this journey, we knew we were creating an entirely new genre of entertainment that would be a continually evolving concept," said Microsoft Game Studios GM Dave McCarthy.

"We're very proud of the 1 vs. 100 team and their accomplishments, and are excited to apply what we've learned to future programming."

Based on the TV show of the same name, 1 vs. 100 saw one player become The One and take on The Mob of 100 other players.

The whole group faced questions and The One tried to stay in it with correct answers until the Mob was reduced to none and he won something. If The One lost out, The Mob shared the prize.

At one point during its "beta" season, it was apparently played by more than 114,000 people simultaneously.

Never bothered with it? Check out our hands-on impressions of the first season.

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About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (57) Latest comment 2 years ago

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  • Psychotext #1 2 years ago

    That sucks, with a bit of advertising it could have gone mainstream. Questions could have been better researched, but I thought it was a lot of fun.

  • kinky_mong #2 2 years ago

    That is a shame because it was mildly diverting fun.

    Cunts never sent me the points and arcade game I apparently won for surviving on the mob though.

  • Dave_McCoy #3 2 years ago

    Well, that's a bit of a shame. I quite enjoyed playing in a party on this, was quite good fun on the live games.
    Edited by Dave_McCoy at 15/07/10 @ 14:54

  • Cronan #4 2 years ago

    Exactly what I was thinking. They obviously canned it because it didn't succeed in drawing in new Gold Subscriptions by the bucketload, yet I don't recall them ever doing any advertising in the UK for it. This is something Microsoft seem to do often, throw loads of things at the wall and see what sticks. It's a shame.

  • GamesProgrammer Verified Games Team Programmer, Eutechnyx Ltd. #5 2 years ago

    i liked playing it with the mrs but i found the whole being part of the mob thing very confusing, as i think alot of people did claiming they should of won prizes, if 10,000 people were playing any given round only 99 of them were actually in the mob. The winning popups should only really have popeed up on the winners screens.

    Apart from that its a real shame, it was a good use for the avatars, and now it feels again like they've gone back to just being visual distraction again, sticking out on huds like sore thumbs where they dont suit the art style .

  • itsfuzzy #6 2 years ago

    Shame, i really liked this. They should blame their PR people for the lack of interest and not the game.
    I stumbled across it on the dashboard one day and im on live a few days a week. Most of my other friends on live has completely missed it also. So how can it draw people into a gold subscription when gold members barely knew about it themselves!
    Edited by itsfuzzy at 15/07/10 @ 14:59

  • YoshiMcTaggis #7 2 years ago

    It was great. I never did receive my prize of MvC2, though.

  • zhgingaah #8 2 years ago

    :(

    I liked it.

    And the missus didn't mind sitting alongside me to play too.

    Sad times.

  • siro #9 2 years ago

    Bummer. I liked it a lot and it was one of the main reasons to continue my subscription when it ran out. The current one is over in August and I'm likely to wait for another year of gold until some massive gold only sales happen.

  • waggy79 #10 2 years ago

    I enjoyed chilling on the sofa with this, looks like those last couple of achievements will never be mine :-(

  • Ryze #11 2 years ago

    Damn - I was on Silver for the entire run!

    Never even got a go.

    Shame, my brother really liked it.

  • metalangel #12 2 years ago

    What a shame! The missus and I both really enjoyed it (apart from the football-themed sessions). We had a great time over the Xmas period when silver members could play on Live too as we were both signed in on my Xbox at my parents' house and all four of us all gathered around the TV for the duration of the show's 'broadcast' each evening. The second season was definitely better than the first, it's a shame they won't make a third as it was often the one thing everyone on my friends list was up for.

    And some people will be grinding their teeth now over some achievements they can never get...

  • brof #13 2 years ago

    I was waiting for Season 3 to start before re-buying Gold membership... well, no need anymore...

  • BabyJesus #14 2 years ago

    That sucks, it was a fun lil' time waster.

  • Xboxfanuk #15 2 years ago

    I really hope they award me the achievements that I can never earn now!

  • Retroid #16 2 years ago

    :(

    I really quite liked it.

  • LittleSacky #17 2 years ago

    It's a shame, as others have said, I had a lot of fun playing this with my gf signed in as a guest. It was fun competing against each other.

    plus, I was waiting for next session to finish off the achievements that I didn't get last time. grrrr! now i'll never be able to finish them

  • fongy #18 2 years ago

    Like everyone here - THIS SUCKS!!
    It was brilliant!! I only joined in the second season - and the live presenter didn't work in UK - but it was really clever and innovative ...

    We made it to being in the mob once and won 800 points - never received them, so I complained (it took 3 months to resolve) and got 800 points and a free copy of SF2 HD... not much, but it was the principle! Nice to know I wasn't the only one who didn't receive them...

    BRING IT BACK!! It's this kind of thing we pay our bl00dy subscription for, not just access to a wonky server...

  • Anthony_UK #19 2 years ago

    Me and the Mrs also looked forward to this each week, the lack of host during the second season and changing the days of the actual 1v100 events helped cause people to lose intrest.

    Still think with a host and a few tweaks this could of been huge.... shame!

  • GamesConnoisseur #20 2 years ago

    A damned shame, miss us and I also had fun and even did a party sessions a few times.

    Really unique and quite diverting, pus quite cerebral, in where this was more of a thinking man's game rather than macho.

    Only faked according to MS's objective of supporting paid subscription service, I have been a long time gold subscriber and yet disappointed that MS was not able to see beyond the subs objective, in the term of actually selling the whole X360 experience.

    They could run a free silver service and relies on adverts, being stronly marketing as free to all X360 owners would be a winning strategy.

  • mr_shoe_uk #21 2 years ago

    It was a fairly good idea but the whole thing was incredibly stingy.

    There was only ever a small chance of being 'the one', or even getting the other prizes, and it seems as though even those weren't actually given out...

  • jddevil #22 2 years ago

    At a time when casual gaming is all the rage it strikes me as a bad move by Microsoft to bring an end to 1 vs 100.

    Simple enough in it's approach it was a light hearted diversion from your typical run 'n gun hardcore gaming usually associated with the Xbox 360.

    Free to download and play it was the kind of game that anybody could easily access and enjoy, alone or with friends and family. Surely 1 vs 100 was perfect for some degree of Kinect compatible!

  • Luglug #23 2 years ago

    A crying shame. I know of at least one family member who bought a year's subscription to Gold specifically for 1 vs 100. But isn’t this typical of Microsoft? They take away something innovative, ('uncool' yet popular) yet continue to force feed us crap about Kinect which fails to excite anybody but Peter Molyneux who's usually playing with the fairies as far as exciting innovations are concerned (I remember him telling us that we'd be able to plant a tree in 'Fable 1' and to revisit it in later games to see how its grown… I want my tree, Peter!). How many times I have gone into a Gamestation to be asked if I'm interested in Kinect only to tell them that I'm not and I think it will bomb and for the salesperson to shrug their shoulders and agree with me?

    Isn't it about time that Microsoft actually listened to what gamers want instead of what they think we want? They take a great console but hamper it with their monolithic corporate mentality that constantly limits what we can do. At least Sony treats us moderately like adults.

  • glo #24 2 years ago

    a real shame as it was the only xbox 360 game that my better half enjoyed. It was a good time waster and quite fun if you played in a group with a few mates too.

    IMHO MS need things like this to keep up the value for their gold subscribers. They don't want to kill the cash cow that is Xbox Live. If it wasn't for my mates and EG folk that I play online with I would cancel my subscription in a heartbeat. Playing games with randoms is less fun than a colonoscopy (with a few exceptions)

  • GamerG #25 2 years ago

    I really liked this, it was a great game to chill out too

  • superdelphinus #26 2 years ago

    i thought it was fun too. interesting how stupid the americans are though

  • Mkwone #27 2 years ago

    I must admit i've not touched it since the first month. What i did play off it i enjoyed.

  • TruSmiles #28 2 years ago

    I was also supposed to win a copy of Portal:Still Alive and 800 points, but after calling Microsoft about it, they said I wasn't eligible, even though I was :/

    I kinda stopped playing after that.

  • s33r #29 2 years ago

    Sad to hear this as I quite enjoyed this and have been looking forward to its return.

  • AphoticCosmos #30 2 years ago

    Aww.

    I thought it was a good bit of fun, it just needed some mainstream advertising. Only advertising it on gaming sites and some backpages of Xbox Live won't help it's case. I guess I mostly liked the whole use-of-avatar thing they had going on, but seeing as Kinect games seem to do that anyway . . . oh well.

  • edhe #31 2 years ago

    ) Put it on when people can play it.
    ) Charge for slots

  • daz_john_smith #32 2 years ago

    Seems like Microsoft is removing value from the Gold Subscription rather than adding it now that a competing product from Sony (PLaystation Plus) has arrived.

    It feels like Microsoft is getting a bit too caught up in motion control/Kinect and placing all their eggs in one basket.
    Edited by daz_john_smith at 15/07/10 @ 16:26

  • Paulie_P #33 2 years ago

    Who is the idiot going in and negging everyone that said they enjoyed this?

    I acted as Karma fairy and +1ed everyone who had been hit by the monster!

  • DanWhitehead #34 2 years ago

    "Bing and decide" still haunts my dreams.

  • chubster2010 #35 2 years ago

    Can't say I'll miss it. I thought it was awful.

    That being said, I do applaud MS for at least having a go at some a little bit new.

    Edit:
    @ Those who are giving me a -1.

    I'm not lying - I genuinely thought it was awful. Are you calling me a liar?

    What was I supposed to like about it? It was a flimsy quiz show dressed up in the Emperor's New Clothes of online connectivity, garnished with the tiny glimmer of hope that you might win some shoddy prize.. It also ultimately proved to be a failed experiment, as MS realised that they couldn't possibly deliver enough live shows to properly service it's userbase.

    Vis-à-vis...it was cack. Ambitious cack, sure...but cack all the same.
    Edited by chubster2010 at 15/07/10 @ 22:07

  • Chazmeister #36 2 years ago

    I never even knew how you were supposed to join in with this. Another missed opportunity from a lack of proper publicity.

  • retrological #37 2 years ago

    :(
    I loved it. Much better way to attract casual gamers than pouring money into this Kinect shit they want us all to buy now.
    Wont be renewing my gold membership.

  • SHPanda #38 2 years ago

    This is such a shame, I really enjoyed it.

    Let's hope these future projects are similar or more involving game shows with prizes, maybe avatar based question and assault course style stuff. Answer a few questions then the top few go on to run an obstacle course or something.

    Or maybe they can do something like Deal or No Deal? Crystal Maze, Gladiators, Generation Game, Family Fortunes, Total Wipeout...

  • DanWhitehead #39 2 years ago

    PROBLEM SOLVED: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0pvFulUd98

  • Jackface #40 2 years ago

    I liked it too. Obviously wasn't making them any money though.

  • PoundHound #41 2 years ago

    Oh noooooo! I loved this. I was so looking forward to the next episode. Some of the best times I've had on Live were playing 1 v 100. Scunnered.

    P.S. I too am waiting for a game (Ikaruga) and a whopping 80 MSP :)

  • Sunyavadin #42 2 years ago

    Aw, that sucks.

  • Beetroot_Bertie #43 2 years ago

    Yeah it's a shame. It was good fun and it felt like a nice little bonus for Gold subscribers, like you were actually getting something unique for your money and I liked the idea of all these people playing at the same time. I'm sorry Microsoft felt the need to take that away. Maybe they'll offer up something equally good or better in the future. Maybe they won't.

    I did wonder at one stage if it's popularity would be a problem, with people playing this rather than going out and buying other games.
    Edited by Beetroot_Bertie at 15/07/10 @ 22:16

  • influenceuk #44 2 years ago

    Shame, was a good idea, and great fun too. I missed Season 2 :(

    Suppose i can now delete it from my 360 as it's no longer needed. Hopefully they will bring something better out with Kinect - Krypton factor any one? :D

  • RedSparrows #45 2 years ago

    AWWW I really liked 1 vs 100 :(

  • gjgjg #46 2 years ago

    boourns MS, so much potential

  • asphaltcowboy #47 2 years ago

    That's a real shame, 1vs100 was great!

  • Moz #48 2 years ago

    That's dissapointing, would be interesting to see how many different people played over the course of the 2 seasons.

    Think the biggest issues they had we're lack of advertising and maybe not as "casual gamer" friendly as it could have been.

    Though I think the main reason they've axed it is the lack of advertisers interested in it.

  • metalangel #49 2 years ago

    Think of it this way: you'll never hear the grating voice of the hostess or "BOOK IT!" again. Nor see all those appalling rubbish animations the stupid avatars did. And a whole audience of people in identical CoD soldier costumes or Mass Effect helmets depressed me thinking how much money had been pissed away on pretend clothes...

  • earobus #50 2 years ago

    tight bastards.

  • SilentNinja92 #51 2 years ago

    I completely forgot about this to be honest. I dont know if id have liked it but they need to advertise new services better.

  • Marshall2008 #52 2 years ago

    Bring it back (new gameshow) with 4 player Kinect control and then advertise the shit out of it. Theres plenty of Wii owning mums and dads and grandparents out there that would play this.

  • irve77 #53 2 years ago

    Well , that's another reason for me not to go gold !

    So no Joy ride , no 1vs100.

    What are MS thinking

  • viper_h #54 2 years ago

    Noooooooo!!

    Had loads of fun with this. At least I got all the achievements! Never won anything though, thanks to stupid questions about David Beckham's christmas present.

  • Gecks #55 2 years ago

    1vs100 was brilliant and had the kind of mass-market appeal that MS are going for with kinect, but they appear to have just sat on it. shame.

    P.S. those complaining about the low chance of getting a prize are like those merciless cunts using their iphones to google answers at pub quizzes - isn't it enough to just pit your wits against your fellow man? did anyone else just find 1vs100 fun in and of itself?

  • MdaG #56 2 years ago

    Was this even released in Europe?

  • arty #57 2 years ago

    I subscribed to gold because of this. My mrs and I absolutely loved it, it was brilliant. We won points and never received them but you just email a guy on the xbox forums telling him roughly the date you won and the amount and then they sort it out.