Maybe this is a bit late, but lately I've been thinking a lot about whether I should let Rock Band and Rock Band 2 stay in my games library or if they should be traded in/sold. I invested a lot of time and money into them after all, and I still enjoy playing them from time to time.
Of course, the last time I even picked up my plastic Fender Stratacaster was about six or seven months ago.
So before we start blaming Red Octane and Activision for souring the music game genre with it's dozen or so Guitar Hero games released over the past three years, we need to think a little bit about why this genre was so beloved in the first place.
When Guitar Hero first appeared in 2005 it was something we in the west had never seen before. Playing some of our favourite songs ever with a plastic guitar controller allowed us to at least pretend we were rocking out to millions of people. It was one of those games that was fun to play with friends, and those who were good at it took pride in their scores and their skills at the game. Konami's GuitarFreaks game had already done something along the lines of this. But for most of us, it was fresh and new. Not to mention insanely addicting and incredibly fun.
Then in 2007 we saw the next step. Rock Band introduced us to having a full band to play with in these games. It was an even deeper experience, and brought something incredibly different to the genre. Rock Band also brought something else to the table: downloadable songs. Now, not only did we have a full band experience, but now, through Harmonix, we could buy hundreds of different songs and albums to play, added onto the eighty or so that shipped with the game.
A token price of about $180 got you all this
At this point in time the idea of games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero were still somewhat fresh and interesting. Unfortunately this is also about the time when we started getting things like Guitar Hero: Van Halen.
Don't get me wrong some of these titles weren't horrendous, but there is certainly too much of a good thing, and Red Octane and Activision didn't seem to understand this very well. In fact, the sheer number of games they put out may be part of the reason why Rock Band: The Beatles wasn't as big as it should have been. The Beatles edition of Rock Band was more than just a paintjob over Rock Band's already existing frame, it really felt like a different game in the music games genre.
In a way, Rock Band: The Beatles was the last gasp of air for the genre. Neither Rock Band 3 or Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock sold very well, despite the new keyboard in RB3 that really seemed like it could bring even more people over. DJ Hero was an interesting...spin...on the idea, but never really gained traction. It goes beyond that though. I used to see plenty of people playing Rock Band and Guitar Hero within a given week. Now when I see someone playing them I go "Oh wow! Someone's playing Rock Band!" People are not just refusing to buy new games, they don't play the ones they have to begin with anymore.
Like I said in the opening, the over-saturation of the genre certainly contributed to the end of the genre as we know it, but it's not the reason for it.
Ever remember a game series called Dance Dance Revolution? Remember how it used to be all the craze? My school even implemented it into our gym class at one point (I was in like sixth grade when they did this by the way). IT was that one game that was always around at parties, and everyone knew what it was.
Ever really see anyone playing it now?
Nope.
Now, granted, we have games like Just Dance that kind of take the experience to another level now, but think about it, when was the last time you got that arrow-mat out and played some good old DDR? I'll bet that most of you haven't done so in at least a year or two, if not more. There's a really simple, yet sad reason for it.
Because the novelty simply wore off.
Games like Rock Band and Dance Dance Revolution are doomed , in a way, from inception, because they rely on introducing people to an idea that is, initially, incredibly different, but overtime can not really change much. Eventually you look at your several Guitar Hero titles and think "Do I really need another one?" Guitar Hero attempted to do something with a story element, and introduced some pretty cool ideas in Warriors of Rock, but when you boil it down, your still jamming away on a plastic guitar while notes flash by. The gameplay can't ever change much beyond that.
Thats not to say that Rock Band and Guitar Hero will never ever be respected again, but the fact of the matter is, they were never going to have staying power. They were, much like Dance Dance Revolution, a fad.
Now to other things I want to sum up briefly here.
First up, Peter Molyneux is now saying that the demo we saw at E3 of Fable: The Journey was not indicative of the rest of the game, making it a point to make sure we understand that the game is not an on-rails shooter. Lionhead Studios is going to really have to work hard to get people interested again, because a lot of people were very disappointed by the reveal demo.
Second, cheers to everyone who's reading and spreading the word. Makes me feel special inside.
That does it for now. Keep reading, keep spreading the word.
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