Only nine days after our initial report about Play Hard Sports, it looks like they’re staying true to their commitment to make premium, free-to-play titles. As of yesterday, Play Hard Sports have officially rebranded themselves as Quick Hit Inc. and added legendary Pittsburgh Steelers Coach Bill Cower to serve as the public voice of the upcoming online football game. It looks like that extra $8M they recently picked up is already being put to use.
“I find most video games too complicated to play,” said Cowher. “Then I heard about Quick Hit Football and realized that they were building something unique and interesting.”
You might already know Cowher from his insight and commentary on “The NFL Today” on CBS, making him the ideal personality for Quick Hit Football 2009. The game, which places players in the role of ‘Coach’, challenging them to build and lead a fully customizable football team through a full season, play offs, and the ultimate glory: Superbowl Champions. Cowher has made this very path in the real world, putting him in a unique position to provide critical insight and advice to players of all levels. If a play call is in question, players will also have the option to consult Coach Cowher and get his opinion. Capitalizing on his current position, Cowher will also serve as the game calling voice in the game.
“Whether it’s deciding which play to call or whether to go for it on 4th down, we wanted a coach for our game that embodied genuine football,” said Jeff Anderson, CEO, Quick Hit. “Bill Cowher’s 10 post-season berths, 8 division titles, 6 AFC championship games, 2 Super Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl Championship clearly demonstrate the level of experience and strategic insight he can bring to our game.”
Quick Hit Football is still on track to launch concurrently with the 2009 NFL season, but plans on launching an open beta in a few months. Given the recent addition and rebrand, the timing seems just about right. Cowher’s certainly got a boatload of voiceover work to keep him busy in the post Superbowl season, and a multiple month timeline should be sufficient for brand recognition to kick in. Again, Quick Hit Inc. is move to position itself as the premier free-to-play sports games destination. No word yet on monetization, but my prediction is heavy reliance on in-game advertising/product placement, with a bevy of character customization and perhaps ‘power-up’ microtransactions (i.e. Drink this Gatorade for +1 run speed for 5 minutes, etc.).
Ed. Not: Doing a bit of background research, I couldn’t come up with another major level endorsement/integration of Cowher’s caliber in a free-to-play title. Know of one? Leave a comment below.
