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If I told you I own three guitars, two drum sets and a microphone, you might think I’m a die-hard musician. But it’s hard to confuse the miniature guitars and drums that dominate my suite with real musical instruments. These plastic peripherals come with the massively popular “Rock Band” and “Guitar Hero” games, which lead the fastest-growing genre in the gaming industry. Where did the rhythm genre come from, and how did all this plastic sneak into my living room?
“PaRappa the Rapper,” made by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEI) for the PlayStation 1 effectively created the rhythm game genre. You play as PaRappa, a rapping dog, who must master a series of skills, like learning to drive or polishing his martial arts abilities, with the ultimate goal of impressing his crush. In terms of actual gameplay, you have to push buttons in time with a drum beat as they scroll across the top of the screen. The fewer mistakes you make, the better PaRappa raps, and the better he does at his task.
Though SCEI jumpstarted the genre with the release of “PaRappa” in 1997, the Japanese publisher Konami dominated the space for the next eight years. Their first rhythm game, “Beatmania,” landed in Japanese arcades in 1997 and became an instant success. Though a North American version was only released in 2006 on the PlayStation 2, the game generated numerous sequels in Japan, and Konami named their music-game development studio “Bemani” after the series.
“Beatmania’s” on-screen display will look familiar to fans of modern rhythm games. Bars scroll down a vertical lane, and each one corresponds to a different button. You have to press the right button as the bar crosses a line at the bottom of the screen, producing a prerecorded sound. Since you play as a DJ, there is also a turntable you can “scratch” alongside five piano keys.
“Beatmania” was the first in a line of Bemani games that were characterized by unique controllers designed specifically for each game. “Guitar Freaks” (1998) and “DrumMania” (1999) appeared in Japanese arcades with guitar and drum controllers—not unlike those included with “Rock Band” today—and “Beatmania”-style gameplay. While those two games never came across the Pacific, “Dance Dance Revolution” (1999) had Americans dancing in arcades across the country.
American game developer Harmonix Music Systems rolled onto the scene in 1995. They worked on small music-related software projects before finding minor success with a PlayStation 2 game called “Frequency” in 2001 and its sequel “Amplitude” in 2003.
In November 2005, Harmonix worked with RedOctane to release “Guitar Hero” for PlayStation 2. RedOctane was relatively new to publishing games but had valuable experience in selling accessories for Konami’s music games, including “Guitar Freaks.” “Guitar Hero” was RedOctane’s opportunity to bring their own version of “Guitar Freaks” to the neglected North American market.
“Guitar Hero” launched at $69.99, $20 higher than the typical PS2 game, and came with a huge peripheral controller that could only be used for “Guitar Hero”—a sure formula for failure, right? Instead, Harmonix shocked the industry with its success. “Guitar Hero” sold 1.5 million units, and a year later, its sequel “Guitar Hero II” sold three million copies across the PS2 and Xbox 360 platforms. “Guitar Hero II” innovated with two-player co-operative play and downloadable song packs available for purchase on the Xbox 360 Marketplace.
Even before “Guitar Hero II” was released, Harmonix and RedOctane were preparing to go their separate ways. MTV Networks bought Harmonix in 2006, while RedOctane took the Guitar Hero brand with them when they were bought by Activision.
Activision handed development of “Guitar Hero III” to Neversoft, which is well known for its long-running “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” franchise. The third installment of the Guitar Hero franchise released in October 2007, a month before Harmonix/MTV’s new project, was “Rock Band.”
With more than eight million copies sold, “Guitar Hero III” outdid “Rock Band” almost two-to-one, though it’s debatable which actually “won.” The “Rock Band” bundle, which included the mic, guitar and drums, retailed for $169.99 to “Guitar Hero III’s” $99.99. MTV also positioned “Rock Band” as a music gaming platform and has released at least three downloadable songs (usually $1.99/song) almost every week since the game’s launch; they have sold more than 21 million songs.
With the release of “Rock Band 2” and “Guitar Hero World Tour,” we can see how the music industry has changed their perspective on the rhythm games. We’ve come a long way since the original “Guitar Hero,” which debuted with only 30 cover tracks from mainstream bands (and 17 original indie tracks).
Now, both games have arrived with more than 80 songs, all of which were master tracks. MTV and Activision had little problem licensing music from major artists like The Who, Bob Dylan, The Eagles and a number of other major bands. Megadeth released their newest album, “Peace Sells,” in stores and on “Rock Band 2’s” online music store at the same time, while AC/DC is getting their own version of “Rock Band” this month. Activision will release “Guitar Hero: Metallica” next year.
In fact, MTV and Apple just announced that they would collaborate on a new Beatles music game, planned for release in 2009. Considering that Apple won’t even put The Beatles on the iTunes Store, this is a huge victory for MTV, Harmonix and the games industry as a whole.
According to recent market research, music games have overtaken sports as the second most popular videogame genre (behind “action games”). Games like “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” have not only earned the gaming industry a lot of respect from the music business, but they’ve also attracted new people to gaming and expanded the kinds of experiences you can find in interactive entertainment. Now if only they didn’t require so much plastic!
