The PlayStation exclusive trivia game series, Buzz!, from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has been around since the PS2 days. Although the property itself is under Sony’s control, the development exclusivity by Relentless Software with the publisher has ended. Now that they are freed from Sony’s leadership, what’s next for the Buzz! developers?
In an interview with the now independent developers, co-founder of the studio, Andrew Eades, explains that the next step in the team’s vision is to disembark from retail releases and explore the digital distribution market. According to Andrew Eades:
“Our real strategy going forward is to change the company from a disc-based, console games company only–which is what we were, we were only PlayStation 3, we were only console, we were only quiz, in fact. We wanted to change the company to have much more breadth and embrace the new digital platforms we saw coming in.”
So what’s wrong with the retail market for the developers of Buzz! and Blue Toad Murder Files? In the words of the studio co-founder, retail space is simply geared towards the hardcore:
“The whole retail market is becoming very much about pillar titles for a hardcore audience –so we have to find a new way to get to our audience, and that is digital, episodic, various different platforms – including PlayStation, that remains our main platform.”
Also cited in the interview with GamesIndustry.biz is the differences between a franchise like Buzz! and another like Call of Duty. Without a doubt, both franchises may require the same sort of attention during the development process but, when it comes time to ship, the casual versus hardcore appeal of the respective titles don’t warrant the same multi-million dollar marketing push for both titles.
