Xbox LIVE: 1 vs. 100 finally offering real prizes for Beta players

There can be only one!

On Friday, July 10th, Xbox LIVE's new trivia game show 1 vs. 100 will finally be offering real world prizes to contestants.

1 vs. 100 has made a huge splash on LIVE ever since its first beta release on June 1st of this year, with over 1.1 Million users to date already having experienced the massively multiplayer trivia buzz-in game show. Things look certain to explode this Friday, when finally the promises of actually winning real marketplace Points will become a reality.

It's been a little over a full month of existing beta, in which sadly no prizes were being awarded, much to the chagrin of gamers thinking they were taking home some hard won points only to discover they hadn't read the fine print first. The game's beta may have started out with a bang and slimed down slightly in the past week or so, but that's all about to change. Though 1 vs. 100 will still remain officially in beta, it is now going to be offering up the "goods" to its many patient, and highly anticipating fans.

Throughout the "prize-less" portion of the beta there has been a long running sweepstakes in place, allowing gamers with the random possibility of winning a Samsung 52” plasma HDTV, Acer Aspire laptop, Microsoft Zune 120GB, or Xbox Live Arcade Game for every question they answer in both “1 vs. 100 Live” and “1 vs. 100 Extended Play”. It's interesting to note that these sweepstake prizes appear to be set as a regular feature for 1 vs. 100, and may continue upon the full release of the game with perhaps various new prizes being offered at different times. Think of it as a "thanks for playing" chance of winning something even if the questions were a bit too hard.

Now, however, the stakes have been raised and the full prize scheme of 1 vs. 100 is slowly coming into play, and that means that Microsoft Points are now on the line. The "skill-based" prize system is tiered, meaning that a set of questions must be answered correctly in order to win the corresponding prize. Three prize structures exist, the first for "The One" who is placed in the hot seat, and another for "The Mob" who is trying to eliminate him, and the third for "The Crowd" who didn't get selected as either of the other two.

As the One, a player can stand to win as many as a whopping 10,000 points ($124.95), should they first be selected twice from the herd (first "Crowd" and then "Mob"), and then manage to knock the other 100 Mob players out.

For Mob players, the system is a bit different; delivering prizes based upon the number of remaining Mob members when, and if, the One is eliminated. The payout goes up for every tenth member of The Mob eliminated and The One can opt to quit with their winnings at various intervals, or press their luck and continue on. The last remaining 60 Mob members who haven't been eliminated when the One finally makes a mistake, get to take home an Xbox LIVE Arcade title and a share of points that the One failed to get. Basically, they divvy up the pot based on the number of players remaining.

Players, who are not selected for the Mob, or the One, get a seat in the Crowd from which they still participate in the action, but don't get a shot at the goodies. However, the top three scoring members of the Crowd will net an Arcade title. Unfortunately, the Crowd is the largest group of players and the competition is quite steep. But on a positive note, participating as a Crowd member enhances the chances of being selected for the Mob or the One in later matches, based upon performance rankings and speed.

Of course, if lady-luck seems to not be there during the game, the possibility of winning the sweepstakes prizes is still a welcome thought.

As a side note, the July 10th date also marks the same day for UK players to get their first glance at the beta, though it's not clear if the prizes will be available for them at this time.

Game time is 7:00pm PST, but gamers may want to make sure they get in there a few minutes early because the download queue for the game will likely cause a delay before getting into the lobby. If a player is late, their chances of becoming the One or a Mob member are going to be 0. Don't be late!

To wrap things up, here's a little 1 vs. 100 trivia to get things rolling.
(Sorry no prizes! Answer in More Info section)

Jen Taylor, the hostess of 1 vs. 100 is the voice actress for which popular game character?

X - Sheva Alomar (Resident Evil 5)
A - Kate McReary (Grand Theft Auto IV)
B - Cortana (HALO series)
Y - Pass