Relentless Software champions originality in gaming
Championing originality in the games industry, Brighton-based developer Relentless Software is celebrating the sales success of its innovative music quiz - the only original software title in the top 20 sales chart.
Brighton-based developer Relentless Software is celebrating the sales success of its innovative music quiz, Buzz! - the only original software title in the top 20 sales chart.
Buzz! comes bundled with four specially made buzzers which are used in place of traditional controllers, and features 1000 song clips from six decades along with 5000 music-based questions. According to Relentless, the game has been specifically designed to appeal to a much broader audience than traditional videogames - including female gamers and family members of all ages.
The game, published by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, has enjoyed tremendous sales success, reaching number 4 in the PlayStation 2 top 20 chart during the Christmas period. It is also the only original (i.e. non-licensed, non-sequel) title in the top 20 chart listings.
Andrew Eades, Relentless co-founder and development director, commented: "We're clearly delighted to have a hit on our hands but quite shocked to see that it's the only original title in the entire Top 20. Still, it goes to show that with the right concept supported by strong sales and marketing original titles can be very successful, even at Christmas."
"Sony is definitely ahead in the lifestyle/social games market — they've made huge strides in this area and that can only be good for the industry as a whole, " Eades added.
Just as Sony's EyeToy and SingStar products have done before it, Buzz! has broadened the gaming demographic by establishing a new genre, which the company refers to as social gaming - offering a simple and uniquely entertaining experience that will appeal to both hardcore and non-traditional gaming audiences.
SCEE's David Wilson stated: "PlayStation 2 is now a feature in over 8 million UK homes - yet we are still guilty of having a very male bias in our average users. Fresh and original titles like Buzz! (and also EyeToy and SingStar) are helping us to bring the joys of PlayStation to a much wider demographic, from young to old, male to female."
The music quiz is the first in a series of titles planned by Relentless, all of which will make use of the innovative buzzer controllers. The next game, titled Buzz! The Big Quiz, will feature thousands of general knowledge clips and questions, and is slated for a release around Easter.