Buzz! dev: Kinect "a stroke of genius"

By Robert Purchese Published 21 February, 2011

"We'd be mad not to look into it."

Buzz! maker Relentless Software is no longer shackled to PlayStation, and there's one piece of technology that has particularly caught its eye: Kinect.

"Of course I'd consider any game for Kinect. And the reason is because Kinect is amazing," Relentless co-founder and executive director Andrew Eades told Eurogamer.

"It's the exact right technology for now. It's given our sector a new lease of life. We'd be mad to not look into Kinect and what we can do.

"The Kinect audience that Microsoft is going after is exactly the audience that we've spoken about forever. Since we started we've said we make games for everyone and that's exactly what Kinect is about, making gaming available to anybody.

"The removal of the controller is a stroke of genius," he added. "People can actually have a go because they don't feel intimidated by this weird DualShock controller or the Xbox controller."

That's the reason Relentless developed the original Buzz controller for PlayStation 2 six years ago.

Eades wouldn't confirm or deny if Relentless was making a game for Kinect nor whether he'd talked to Microsoft.

If Relentless did develop a game for Kinect, a Buzz! game would be off the menu - Sony owns that IP. But what about family murder mystery game Blue Toad Murder Files, could that potentially be a Kinect game?

"Yeah in theory it could be, of course," answered Eades. "It would be really suitable for that.

"There's a lot of hurdles in practice, but why not? I mean I'd love to do it. I'd love to do it multi-platform but I think you'd have to get PlayStation and Xbox to agree with each other on that."

When asked about PlayStation Move, Eades sees one stumbling block: sales. Kinect, remember, raced out of the traps with eight million sales in 60 days.

Buzz!, Relentless' flagship series - but owned by Sony.

Sony's been less forthcoming with Move figures; the last we heard was in November 2010, when Move had shipped 4.1 million units around the world.

"My only issue with Move is if it's got enough numbers out there - whether it's sold through to enough people to make it a platform that we could aim at," said Eades.

"The difference with Kinect is that it's big enough from its first holiday, and growing, that you can take a punt on it - and my conversations with publishers are confirming that decision.

"But we're still not sure if Move is big enough yet for us. I hope it will be, because my dream scenario is not to be partisan in any of this, it's to have available a bigger audience."

Let's not forget about Wii, the console with the biggest rectangle on the seventh generation home console sales chart - not to mention an audience that fits Relentless' remit.

"We have Wii capability here," Eades revealed. "It is a platform we're looking at.

"We find it slightly more difficult because we think we're a bit late to the party, if you like, on Wii. There's a lot of good, solid games out there that are sufficiently supplying our audience, our market. So it's a bit harder for us to come in and compete there."

Relentless Software has already branched out to PC with the release of Blue Toad Murder Files. The studio has also announced its first iPhone game, Quiz Climber, which will be published by Angry Birds powerhouse Chillingo.

Blue Toad Murder Files has made the transition to PC.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (42) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Mkwone #1 1 year ago

    I wish them every sucess, but the thought of no more buzz makes me sad.

  • ikehouserock #2 1 year ago

    Indeed.

    Where are all the Kinect games, anyway?

  • X201 #3 1 year ago

    @Mkwone

    Ditto

  • captain_Carl #4 1 year ago

    Buzz > This

  • myiagros #5 1 year ago

    I don't see this as the end of Buzz.

    They have the tech in place, and the game structure doesn't seem to change much between releases, so i can't imagine it would take them very much time or effort to produce another in future.

    Hopefully this will be in addition to, not instead of Buzz.

  • Negotiator #6 1 year ago

    I said this all along and I have been proved right once again, Kinect is the next step forward and I'm rolling out the red carpet.

  • Mkwone #7 1 year ago

    @myiagros

    Whilst i have no doubt the skills will be transferred, and the games will be as good technically for me it's the style, presentation and humour that makes buzz work. Without Jason Donnovan's voice acting i fear that if they attempted another quiz style game it wouldn't be as good. I suppose we'll get to see that with the upcoming Iphone quiz game though.

  • tobsen #8 1 year ago

    I play games when I want to *relax*. I don't want to flail my arms around or hop up and down in front of the TV to control a game. If I need exercise, I actually do sports. Like running in the woods.

    I have the suspicion that the people who are soooo in love with Kinect are the notorious couch potato types who get their feeling of guilt about their unhealthy lifestyle mitigated by waggling their extremities in front of the TV screen.

    And to give you one more reason to down-vote my comment, I think that Move is great.

  • MasterNameless #9 1 year ago

    @Negotiator

    Do yourself a favour. I like Kinect and even agree with your opinion, but you come across as being so pretentious, that I'm actually annoyed that I agree with you! If you think you're actually convincing people to like Kinect, think again - you're probably doing the complete opposite. The people who were already against Kinect, probably hate it even more, and the people who already liked, feel a little sick for doing so!

    (Only for the short-term after reading your comments, thankfully, but still...)

    Edit : Oh, he's deleted his post. Oh well, never mind. I'll leave this here anyway. Or maybe not... the comment has just magically returned. Weird.

    @Everyone else

    Sorry for feeding the troll, let's leave him be now.
    Edited by MasterNameless at 21/02/11 @ 17:41

  • MasterNameless #10 1 year ago

    @tobsen

    So, I assume you've never played a tennis game, a football game, a driving game, a music game, or even a fighting game - as with all of those games you could aim the same argument at.

    You'll probably find most people play games for "fun", not to relax, although that can be part of it of course.

    This isn't the sort of game I'd sink my teeth into, so to speak, like an RPG, or FPS. With friends, or with the family at Christmas, this and a few other Kinect games are good fun in those circumstances. That's not for everyone though, people do enjoy games differently, and some even enjoy all the different aspects of gaming, even if some are core games and some are casual.

    Edit: Granted, going out into the streets for the fighting game could get you into trouble... but countless still do it! ;)
    Edited by MasterNameless at 21/02/11 @ 17:24

  • des #11 1 year ago

    Genius move yes,but that doesn't mean that i have to like it.But i do see lots of developers supporting Kinect,much more will come because Kinect is selling like crazy.
    At least PC is free of this motion controls craze.

  • LetsGo #12 1 year ago

    I thought the kinect sales hype was over?

  • Murton #13 1 year ago

    The 8 million hardware sales figure is impressive but what about the software? All I seem to hear from gamers from all walks of life is that the Kinect is a great idea, but where are the games? Relentless are a great little studio and their output is ideal for the likes of Kinect and Move but to single out Kinect as the next direction based on sales is misguided and they will come to realise that in relatively short order.

    As much as it pains me to do so I'm going to have a quote a man I can't stand and say "installed base doesn't matter. If it did we'd all be making board games because there are so many tables in the world" - Todd Howard.

  • des #14 1 year ago

    Kinect is higher than 8 million now,probably closing to 10 mill but not quite there yet,MS would talk about it.Buzz! devs make casual software and Kinect is like the most casual,social family friendly device ever.No surprise here

  • funkateer #15 1 year ago

    "I said this all along and I have been proved right once again"

    Translation: "Nobody's ever said this, so I'll say it myself: I'm amazing"
    ;)

  • Arwin #16 1 year ago

    Yep, defnitely credit due to Relentless forbeing part of that small but successful group of developers that widened the game audience on the PS2 and of which SCE was also an important promotor, with EyeToy and the likes.

    As for Kinect though, to me, the tech still hasn't proven itself. Particularly in Europe, the thing is too demanding on floor space (not a chance of being able to play it in our house). I also think Move sales should not be underestimated, but perhaps Move is probably the most 'hardcore' of the three motion controllers, what with no doubt Dead Space: Extraction and Killzone 3 now being its most recent proponents. Still, I'm willing to bet that those two will push some units, and there is a lot more to come for the Move. I'm really looking forward to LittleBigPlanet 2's support for it in create mode.

    Microsoft in turn has a great opportunity to allow Kinect support in XNA, seeing as how the Kinect 'Hacks' on PC are currently showing a lot of fun little stuff. In that respect I do hope that at GDC Sony will also release some kind of PC support for Move, so that more creative minds can let loose on that tech as well (which still has some big benefits over Kinect in areas of lag, 3D space tracking / precision, detecting rotation and, well, buttons ;) )

  • makeamazing #17 1 year ago

    So these guys could finally make that game thats been in the original Kinect trailer where the family are hitting their fists into their hands... on the quiz show ;)

    Joking aside, you cant blame them, small team, looking for a way of making a game that will sell. The normal market is swamped and there hasnt been alot of Kinect yet, so there is a big potential market waiting for games, if they wait too long, then there might be too many other games and so be at risk of not making any money, or on the other hand, making a game on a platform that may not sell lots of games past the initial releases. So i guess they are trying to sound out the market/MS.

    Be interesting to see what/how much the next set of games do in terms of sales. I cant see the swimming game doing much.
    Edited by makeamazing at 21/02/11 @ 20:37

  • SvennoJ #18 1 year ago

    "The removal of the controller is a stroke of genius," he added. "People can actually have a go because they don't feel intimidated by this weird DualShock controller or the Xbox controller."

    Imagine how big tv would be if you didn't have to deal with all the buttons on the remote!

    It's more that it's something new and fun to try then a controller scaring people away, the Wii didn't do too badly with a controller.

  • coolbritannia #19 1 year ago

    The Negotiator is correct.

  • handsonhips101 #20 1 year ago

    You would say that.

  • funkateer #21 1 year ago

    Raise your hand if you can imagine what the Kinect control scheme is going to be like.

  • funkateer #22 1 year ago

    "yeah what about the pseye that was out before kinect and did the same fucking thing"

    Except that it actually works well.

  • Doctor_What #23 1 year ago

    @SvennoJ: "the Wii didn't do too badly with a controller."

    I think that's got to be the quote of the day. Well done sir!
    Edited by Doctor_What at 21/02/11 @ 21:53

  • randompanda #24 1 year ago

    I'm sure you're all aware by now, but I really enjoy cake.

  • DoctorFraud #25 1 year ago

    Doomed_soul is a stupid prick. Fact.

  • bladdard #26 1 year ago

    Kinect is perfect for a buzz style game and buzz is brilliant fun. C'mon relentless put your money where your mouth is announce the game or STFU.

    PS. Do some people (idiots) still believe kinect = eye toy+ ?

  • Geordiemp #27 1 year ago

    PS2 had a BUZZ game where you had 4 buzzers.....

    Still woirks on the PS3.

    Bet it works better than any gesture based game on PS3 or 360, an you have 4 buzzers !

    Technology advancement.....LOL

  • bladdard #28 1 year ago

    Kinect has it's shortcomings but the ps eye/eyetoy is a webcam, kinect is a super sophisticated 3d environment scanner and given the right software an uninhibited kinect is a fantastic piece of tech whereas an eyetoy is just a webcam.

    People should shelve the eyetoy argument they're starting to look foolish.
    Edited by bladdard at 22/02/11 @ 00:09

  • Mister-Wario #29 1 year ago

    "The Kinect audience that Microsoft is going after is exactly the audience that we've spoken about forever. Since we started we've said we make games for everyone and that's exactly what Kinect is about, making gaming available to anybody".

    Really? Because so far it really seems to be going solely for the casual market. And making something controller-free isn't the only way to attract people. The Wii used a controller- a simple controller, but a controller nonetheless.

    I want to believe in ideas like Kinect, but so far nothing has convinced me of its value beyond incredibly basic concepts.

  • Lucodeath #30 1 year ago

    I havent got kinect yet but I wouldnt buy it for games, I just fancy the idea of watching/listening to stuff without a controller to show off. If some games come out which Im into then, would be a big bonus.
    Ive got a wii stashed away, not touched it in ages.(was free) Limited online an kiddie games to me but thats just me. Never seen move in action so I cant diss it or dig it.

  • woodnotes #31 1 year ago

    Sony might own the Buzz IP, but that wouldn't stop Relentless doing a new Kinect quiz IP for MS. I think the Buzz games are brilliant though, nothing else has come close to Mike Read's Computer Pop Quiz on the C64.

  • Murton #32 1 year ago

    "Kinect has it's shortcomings but the ps eye/eyetoy is a webcam, kinect is a super sophisticated 3d environment scanner and given the right software an uninhibited kinect is a fantastic piece of tech whereas an eyetoy is just a webcam."

    Except that the 360 doesn't run the right software and the Kinect is far from uninhibited on 360. So I guess that's /thread for you.

  • coolbritannia #33 1 year ago

    Love the SDF clinging on to that eyetoy comparison that died on it's arse the day Kinect was released.

  • bladdard #34 1 year ago

    @doomed_soul89
    Yes and MS have me so utterly under their spell that I don't own kinect but have move.

    @Murton
    You appear to have read my post, quoted my post, restated my point and missed my point????
    Edited by bladdard at 22/02/11 @ 08:41

  • droolbrittania #35 1 year ago

    Me and coolbritannia have been setting up live cams where you can watch us make love to kinect. NO PS3 USERS ALLOWED!

    You need to be over 18, have a credit card and have an obsession with hating one global corporation whilst wanting to rim another.

    Join us at;

    WWW.coolstoolkinectswithdrool.com

  • Murton #36 1 year ago

    @Bladdard

    My apologies, the tone of your post implied the opposite. The written word is good for many things but it fails on its arse when it comes to tone.

    @ coolbritannia

    The EyeToy comparison is perfectly valid and will remain so until someone releases a game that uses the Kinect as something more than a webcam. Every game I've seen so far for Kinect could have been made for the original EyeToy. None of them really use the body tracking element and are really just watching a change in the shape that they're "seeing" something that the EyeToy did very well. The 3D environment tracking isn't really being used either as with the exception of dance central the player either either doesn't move their lower body or only moves left and right, the EyeToy neatly sidestepped 3D environment scanning with that orange outline that you had to stand in during calibration.

    If you want to see an end to the EyeToy comparison you're going to have to wait for the game to be made that simply isn't possible with a standard webcam, a game that hasn't been made yet and looking at the release calendar isn't being made just yet either.

  • coolbritannia #37 1 year ago

    So Move is just a Wiimote?

  • miiiguel #38 1 year ago

    Still this shit? what do you guys eat in England (what ever the fuck country you from) you don't seem to grow up ?

    Kinect! Eye Toy! Move ! The best ! You suck!~
    ffs..., I'm out. Want another hobby.

  • tancredo #39 1 year ago

    I always love the argument of Kinect haters "Every game I've seen so far for Kinect could have been made for the original EyeToy"

    The point is that games like Dance Central, Kinect Sports or Adventures have never been made for the eyetoy, with that level of response or interactivity, so I guess Kinect must have an extra something that makes it superior in some respect.

    I am not trying to create an argument proKinect or proMove. I think both are perfectly fine technologies for gaming. Just wanted to comment on the obvious.

  • coolbritannia #40 1 year ago

    Tancredo, you'll get negged no matter what. 6 million GT5 sales 'proves' it's better than Forza, yet 8 million Kinect sales proves nothing. Apparently.

  • handsonhips101 #41 1 year ago

    @coolbritannia: 6 million gt5 sales proves nothing. Neither does 8 million kinect sales. It's called hype.

    But then with you it always comes back to Sony. I can't help but reply to your comments. I love your obsessive smear campaign against an electrical item.

    Out of interest how often do you play your kinect dude?


  • FarticusMaximus #42 1 year ago

    The whole Kinect = EyeToy myth was conclusively busted the second Kinect was released and people got to play some games on it. It simply isnt an issue for debate.

    Games like Kinect Sports, Dance Central and YourShape:FE are more than enough proof. If EyeToy were capable of producing Kinect-like results then there would be clones all over the place cashing in on the commercial success of Kinect games.

    Kungfu live was the one attempt. I seriously doubt there will be another.

    Anyway, back on topic:

    I really like Buzz. At it's core it is a very simple multiple choice quiz, but the fun and polished presentation and the ability to target other players for retribution make it a great party game.

    I look forward to more quiz games by the Buzz devs. It doesnt matter whether they are called Buzz or not, so long as the quality and fun factors are there.

    Oh, and as long as there is no pass-the-bomb round. ;)