Buzz!: Quiz TV brought Sony’s party quiz series to the PlayStation 3 in 2008, and it brought a lot more with it. Relentless Software developed it; Sony Computer Entertainment published it. It is the seventh Buzz! game and the first that did not ship on the PlayStation 2.
Trailer, via Press X to Archive.
Four Wireless Buzzers in the Box
The game debuts new wireless Buzz! controllers. Buyers can take the game alone in a Solus version, or a bundle with four of the new wireless buzzers and a USB dongle for wireless connectivity. Each dongle connects four buzzers to a PlayStation 2 or PlayStation 3.
It is also the first Buzz! title with online play and user-generated content. Players can write their own questions and trade quiz packs online. Quiz TV was one of the first games to support the PlayStation 3 trophy system, and the first online game to support it. An updated release, Buzz!: Quiz TV – Special Edition, collected the existing updates plus question packs from the PlayStation Store. From 10 September 2009 until PlayStation Home closed in 2015, the game fully supported Game Launching there.
Nine Modes, Seven Rounds
A single-player game is three rounds of Stop The Clock, where faster correct answers score more. Local multiplayer with up to four players runs seven rounds. The source names six of them and cuts off during the description of High Stakes, so the scoring for that mode and the identity of the final round are not known.
| Round | Mode | Scoring |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Point Builder | 250 points per correct answer, six questions |
| 2 | Pass The Bomb / Short Fuse | Bomb holder loses 300 points |
| 3 | Fastest Finger | 400 / 300 / 200 / 100 in a 4-player game |
| 4 | Pie Fight | 1000 / 500 / 250 / nothing in a 4-player game |
| 5 | Point Stealer | 300 taken from a chosen opponent |
| 6 | High Stakes | Not stated in the source |
Cream Pies and Stolen Points
| Mode | What it asks of you |
|---|---|
| Stop The Clock | Answer fast, answer right |
| Pass The Bomb | Answer right to hand off the bomb |
| Fastest Finger | Beat everyone to the buzzer |
| Pie Fight | Hit a target with a cream pie, twice each |
| Point Stealer | Pick the right image, then pick a victim |
Pie Fight knocks a player out after two hits; in a 4-player game the last one standing takes 1000 points. Point Stealer shows a series of pictures, and the first player to buzz the correct image takes 300 points off an opponent.
A Quiz That Wants a Crowded Room
The mode list is the whole argument. Pass The Bomb, Pie Fight and Point Stealer turn a quiz into a party, and the wireless buzzers make the room the point. Online play and user-generated questions are the bigger swing, though the question packs are only as good as the people writing them. The trophy support and Home integration date the game, not diminish it. Buzz!: Quiz TV is the series arriving on PlayStation 3 without losing what made it work.
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