The revolution that began with Guitar Hero was fully realised by Rock Band, made in 2007, and, later, Guitar Hero World Tour, made in 2008.
These games feature not only guitar-playing, but also drums, bass and singing, to simulate an entire band.
“When we originally laid out the plans for Rock Band, it was just insanely ambitious, in a what-are-you-thinking sort of way,” recalls Rigopulos.
What Were They Thinking?
“In a relatively short amount of time, we had to:
-"develop tons of new technology and gameplay, much of it unproven"
-"learn how to make the instruments and manufacture them in the millions" despite knowing "nothing about hardware development"
-"convince the record companies and artists to start licensing us original multi-track master recordings – and not just for the game disc, but for a never-ending flow of DLC thereafter"
"And then we were going to put this whole thing in a huge box and would have to launch it at retail priced at nearly $200, which was an unheard of price point for a videogame,” said Rigopulos.
Two years on, the financial viability of selling hundreds of dollars’ worth of plastic instruments to western gamers is no longer in question.
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Next: The Future of Rhythm Games
Glossary
DLC: Stands for Downloadable Content, which is content that isn't on the game disc, but can be downloaded later by connecting a game console to the Internet. Examples for rhythm games are additional songs to be played
Glossary
DLC: Stands for Downloadable Content, which is content that isn't on the game disc, but can be downloaded later by connecting a game console to the Internet. Examples for rhythm games are additional songs to be played
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