I feel bad for most Australians who didn’t get to experience the pure joy of the Xbox 360’s 1 vs 100. An adaption of the game show of the same name, the live event pitted Xbox Live users against one another in an effort to win Microsoft Points and Xbox Live Arcade games (and, obviously, bragging rights) way back in 2010. With limited availability in the US, Canada, the UK, France and Germany, I happened to time a trip back to visit my family while the show was running and we all instantly fell in love with it.
Sitting down with Phil Spencer in London at X019, I hadn’t even gotten my question about the return of 1 vs 100 out before he interrupted me.
“We should do it again,” he said with a smile.
“The problem with 1 vs 100 specifically is it’s an IP that’s owned by a a game show company. But I’ll say Matt [Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios] and I have had a lot of discussions about the idea, whether it’s that IP specifically or just the idea of what it was, is something that we’d love to go do,” Spencer continued. “So we’re out there kind of looking at ideas and talking to teams. Because I think that was one of those ideas — and it’s a cliche, almost — that might’ve been a little ahead of its time.”
With Microsoft technologies like Project xCloud and Mixer now on the table, a stark contrast to what was available in 2010, Spencer said that it’s the perfect time to bring a live event inspired by 1 vs 100 back to the Xbox service.
“The idea that you’re going to have live events where you know, 100 plus one people, come together and there’s prizes and it’s community driven and stuff,” Spencer said. “With Mixer? You could even do it where it doesn’t even need a local version of the game to go play. So Matt and I have been riffing on these ideas for quite a while. I suspect you’ll see something from us in that space because I think it just should happen.”
Would you like to see the return of a live Xbox game show? Why or why not?
Stay tuned to Stevivor for more from Phil Spencer at X019 in the days to come.
Steve Wright attended X019 in London, England as a guest of Microsoft. Travel and accomodation were supplied by Microsoft.
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