Xbox Live Game Show 1 Vs. 100 Gets Second Season

Based on a successful initial run, Microsoft has scheduled a second season of its Xbox Live-based massively multiplayer online game show 1 vs. 100, to run for 14 weeks starting November 19, 2009. The show, which is hosted and played live by at times over 100,000 players, was available as an open beta for Xbox Live Gold subscribers for 13 weeks this summer, although at the time Microsoft did not consistently refer to that program as the show's "first season." That characterization seems to have been somewhat retrofitted on now that the game is returning for another run. Despite implications by Microsoft that the show could move to a paid format after moving out of beta, the publisher appears to be sticking with its ad-driven model, which in the first season included big-name sponsorships from companies like Sprint and Honda, as well as traditional television-style commercial breaks. Due to its life format, 1 vs. 100 is hosted by different presenters in North America and in the UK and Ireland, although the seasons run roughly in parallel. Microsoft says that, at its peak, the show drew some 114,000 simultaneous contestants.