GeneralGames.ca

Almost a year ago Microsoft announced Xbox Live Primetime then went silent about it. There was precious little news about it. Many began wondering if it had died a quiet, lonely, death. Then, late last month it was announced that Canada would be getting an exclusive beta for it and 1 vs 100 would be the first playable title on the new scheduled gaming platform. Yesterday Xbox Canada gave us and other media (including our friends at Toronto Thumbs and NextGen Player) the opportunity to preview this new feature for Xbox Live and tease out a little bit of information. Now that the embargo has lifted we can finally share what we’ve learned.

When Primetime snuck in to the news at the launch of the New Xbox Experience back in November last year, it sounded like the update’s most interesting feature, and 1 vs 100 seemed like an ambitious and unique title to launch. 1 vs 100 pits one player in a trivia gameshow against a mob of 100 players though the Primetime version will accommodate a larger number of simultaneous spectator players that also answer questions. How many? That’s one thing the beta is trying to determine among other things, of course.

1 vs 100 was a good choice for a first try for Primetime, as a gameshow it is not merely passive entertainment. You can bring your friends and family along for the ride too, even if they only have silver accounts. Gold members get to play for free and can win a variety of prizes which will potentially vary an expand in scale as partners sign on to promote their products within the game. Silver members get to play, but they can not win prizes. For the extent of the beta prizing differs though. During the beta, each question you answer (right or wrong) gives you an entry in to a sweepstakes for prizes to be completed once the beta is over. Later this Spring players will be able to win up to 10 000 MSP for lasting to the end as ‘the one’.  Alternately, players in the mob can win Xbox Live Arcade games and Microsoft Points if they successfully eliminate ‘the one’ or simply survive long enough. Players in the audience can also win similar prizes for playing along side the show and ranking on the high score board.

Xbox Canada's 1 VS 100 preview event with live video stream of the host, Chris Cashman.

There will be two live games every week taking place Fridays at 10PM EST, and Saturdays at 7PM EST. This, as everything else, is subject to change. The live games are hosted by Chris Cashman (which is apparently his real name) who is the only live voice you have to endure aside from your ever so entertaining group of 4.

The pre-game lobby can automatically populate with your friends.

When you decide you want to play that week you can set a reminder (which pops up as a the toast we’re all used to) and automatically adds that week’s data to your download queue. Each week can include it’s own data not just for questions but even for themed stages et cetera, so things shouldn’t get stale too quickly. Before the game you can head to the lobby so you won’t miss the start, and you can join up with your friends if they happen to be playing too.

Questions are kept fresh weekly and will vary according to the regions in which the game is offered once complete. These three regions are U.S. and Canada, U.K. and Ireland, then finally France and Germany. If you’re not in these countries, you’re out of luck, and if you’re not in Canada then no beta for you. Canada was selected because it fits with the target US timezone, language, and allows them to have an open regional beta with a large population without having to deal with a population which is excessively large (like most things from the U.S.) The beta will end on the 24th of May.

If you miss the two weekly live sessions or just want to get some practice in, you and your friends can play in ‘extended play’ which is like a diet version of the game without a live host but with themed content every night of the week. Examples mentioned included special sports or Canadian themed questions. Microsoft is still experimenting with this aspect, so we’ll see how it plays out. The best part is, the more you play the game it increases your chance to play as ‘the one’ or as part of the mob later on. Correct answers in extended play enter you in to a sweepstakes for a variety of prizes. A Zune Media Player or a High-Defienition Television were used as examples.

The questions previewed at the event were pretty easy but demonstrations usually are. There where several times where every single player got the answer right. It’s possible that as they feel out their audience Microsoft will be able to bell curve the difficulty of the questions accordingly. All the questions are multiple choice anyway, so when in doubt, you can always just guess one of the three options.

I'm in Ur mob. Winnin Ur prizes.

Because the game is completely free to play it is supported by advertisements and special sponsorships. However, the 2 examples shown during our session were tastefully done and unobtrusive. Even while there is a streaming video advertisement break, you can spend it checking your stats, or checking your messages – you are not locked in to watching them.

If you’re an Xbox Live Gold member in Canada you’ll definitely want to take part in the beta event, starting this Friday May 8th at 10:00 EST. It’s very fast paced and very fun. They’re trying to get 10,000 members to log on for the first game, so be sure to play and you could win big.