Take part in a LIVE Quiz Show from home

The BBC One quiz show "1 vs. 100" is coming to Xbox 360, allowing thousands to take part online for a chance to win new cars, HD TVs and more. Reason enough to buy a new console? Could be...

Microsoft is calling "1 vs. 100" a new genre of entertainment, and our experience with the Xbox 360 game on Friday certainly went beyond the norm on a console.

Starting this spring premium subscribers to Xbox LIVE - the online Xbox 360 service - can take part in a special version of the "1 vs. 100" quiz show. It will ‘air' on Friday and Saturday evenings for two hours, hosted by National Lottery presenter James McCourt. Just like the TV show, "1 vs. 100" on Xbox 360 takes place live before an audience. The difference is that the audience comprises Xbox LIVE Gold subscribers, and so too are the contestants.

In "1 vs. 100" the rules are that one person, The One, pits his / her wits against 100 contestants that comprise The Mob. Up-to-date trivia questions are worth prizes, and on Xbox 360 these will range from downloadable games all the way up to HD TVs or even a car.

While playing the game against fellow journalists and Xbox employees on Friday we couldn't help but enjoy the format. We were given cartoon alter-egos to represent us in-game, but it will be possible to use your own personalised Xbox LIVE Avatars. The process of being chosen, or not, as The One is nail-biting. You wait in a virtual lobby area, tapping buttons on the controller to make your Avatar dance idiotically. Even if you're among the 100 comprising The Mob it's exhilarating anyway, and becomes very competitive. There is a real buzz about having real-world host, James McCourt, linking between questions - all bang up to date, and UK & Ireland focused. He'll read out messages that you can email or text to the show, even call you for a quick interview that will be heard just after the ad break. The subject matter for questions included the home ground of Bolton Wanderers, the girlfriend of Vernon Kay, posers on EU countries and plenty more from the world of politics and celebrity.

"We have a team of writers that create questions so that there is fresh content weekly," UK Xbox LIVE Marketing Manager, Tania Chee told us, "That's one of the fortes of this game that we have different teams for each territory. We need to have fresh content all the time."

Contestants will be recruited according to how often they take part in half-hour themed "Extended Play" specials taking place weekday evenings, which are not broadcast live but playable on the family Xbox 360 with friends and relations just for fun. Themes will include Formula One, Soaps and so on. The show's producers also take into account how quickly and how accurately you answer the questions.

Chee explained to Yahoo! UK Games on Friday: "We're launching Season One as a Beta. So, just like TV shows have pilot seasons, we're going to get a lot of information from our first season then take it from there. In the first season, the beta season, it will be free to our Gold subscribers."

Reading between the lines this could mean that when Season Two goes out to all Xbox LIVE subscribers that there could be fees involved. Perhaps this will apply to Silver subscribers who don't pay the annual subscription to enjoy online versus gaming and other social functions available to Gold. However Chee is guarded on this point for now: "We don't have anything to announce other than the first season at the moment. We're treating it like the TV shows treat a pilot, and we're absolutely hoping that it will be successful. We haven't decided on the business model yet, all we know is that when we launch this game it will be free to Gold subscribers."

Cost issues aside, when "1 vs. 100" launches proper, the prizes on offer could attract a whole new kind of consumer to Xbox 360. The top prize mooted is a new car, with second tier offerings including HD TVs and thousands of Microsoft Points (Xbox LIVE currency) to spend on game upgrades, movie rentals etc.

"Even though the big prize goes to the One beating all 100, everyone can walk away with something," Chee explains, "Even if you're not chosen as the 100, and you're chosen as the crowd, you can win Arcade titles too."

We found it very hard to put down the controller, even without real-prizes to play for in our Press Day play test. It may be going too far to say that "1 vs. 100" will revolutionise primetime entertainment in the UK, but given the right kind of publicity, Microsoft could really have a winner on its hands.

Wouldn't you rather take part in a TV quiz show than watch a bunch of idiots get all the answers wrong every week? Would you buy an Xbox 360 just for the privilege? We're interested to know what you think...