Feature- The Demise of 1 vs. 100

Sadly, Microsoft have formally announced that 1 vs. 100 is no more, after a short stint of two seasons. But why, you may ask!? Well, it turns out the demand isn't big enough for the record-breaking game show, although Microsoft's spokesperson stated that the company were extremely “proud” of the creative team, nevertheless.

Was it always destined for failure, however? The beta may have seen over 100,000 try it out, but those astronomical figures dwindled to an average of around 10,000 on those nights that weren't hosting the live show (although the live shows' figures were also on a slippery slope!) So what was it that killed 1 vs. 100 before it could return for its third season? Was it over-zealous ambition from Microsoft? After all, they seemed to flood us with game modes night after night during each season which surely couldn't have helped inability to sustain any resounding figures. I'd take a guess that if they solely stuck to live shows, they'd have experienced a much more positive vibe from us gamers, for what they were, the live shows were on the whole, excellent. Other from the missing host most of the time and seemingly random pickings of the '1', the live shows were engaging and thoroughly entertaining to play through, each game weighing in at mere minutes for quick and swift bites of tense multiplayer quizzing action.

Many bemoaned the choice picks of the '1' and '100', complaining how they'd “not been picked yet”. Infuriating me in equal measure for their inability to calculate probability, I didn't have a problem myself with how the show was conducted. Out of the two seasons, I knew of one person to get into the top 100- my brother was lucky enough to be picked on that fateful Friday night to rapturous hollering from the demanding avatars in the stands. Sufficient to say, his nervousness got the better of him and he left with nothing...

I can't falter Microsoft either in what they held back for winners either, with one night the grand prize being a car! So, I'm going to take a wild punt and put the blame solely onto Microsoft's ingenuity. We've never had anything like it before, where members of the public can turn on a device in their living room and take part in a live game show for prizes. Therefore, I don't see 1 vs. 100 as a failure, I see it as the very beginning of something much bigger to come...