Microsoft renews 1 vs. 100 for second season

While Microsoft hopes its motion-sensing Project Natal camera will help bring gamers together in the future, for the present, it seems content to tear them apart. The company today announced a second season for its Xbox Live 1 vs. 100 program, which pits a Live user against Live users in a multiple choice quiz show battle for prizes, such as HDTVs and Xbox Live Arcade games.

Starting with the season's premier at 5 p.m. Pacific on November 19, 1 vs. 100 will run for 14 weeks with Chris Cashman once again hosting the live massively multiplayer trivia show. Last season, the lead contestant for the live shows ("the One") could win up to 10,000 Microsoft points ($125) by outlasting all 100 opponents ("the Mob"). Members of the Mob were able to win Xbox Live Arcade games of Microsoft's choosing, as well as up to 800 Microsoft points ($10). Those watching the show unfold and playing along as part of "The Crowd" were also eligible to earn a free Live Arcade game if they finished in the top three scores. All participants were entered into a sweepstakes drawing for a Zune or an HDTV home theater system.

Microsoft is changing the rules a little this year, with "The One" and "The Mob" of 100 gamers (all of whom are eligible to win prizes) selected based entirely on player scores. Exact prize packages have not yet been revealed.

The second season will also feature tweaks to the Extended Play mode--half-hour sessions with no host and no high stakes to play for. Microsoft will be adding new themed questions for Extended Play every weeknight, including 1980's trivia, a finish-the-song-lyric challenge, and tests of vampire minutia.