Cultural impact of the Guitar Hero series
Encyclopedia
Guitar Hero
Guitar Hero is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It is the first entry in the Guitar Hero series. Guitar Hero was released on November 8, 2005 in North America, April 7, 2006 in Europe and June 15, 2006 in...
is a series of rhythm video games published by Activision
Activision
Activision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
in which players use guitar-shaped controllers
Game controller
A game controller is a device used with games or entertainment systems used to control a playable character or object, or otherwise provide input in a computer game. A controller is typically connected to a game console or computer by means of a wire, cord or nowadays, by means of wireless connection...
to mimic the playing of numerous popular rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
songs in a score attack gameplay; later games in the series have included support for both drums and vocals and playing as a full band. With over $2 billion in total sales worldwide, the game series has made a significant cultural impact, becoming a "cultural phenomenon" and recognizable in the popular culture. The series has been found to influence younger players into learning real instruments, and has found application within the health care industry to help recovering patients.
Both Guitar Hero and Rock Band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
, a similar series of games developed by Harmonix Music Systems
Harmonix Music Systems
Harmonix Music Systems is an American video game development company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States...
(who originally developed Guitar Hero), have altered the video game and music industries. For video games, the introduction of Guitar Hero has led rhythm games to become one of the industries' largest growing markets. The series has also sparked the creation of both commercial and independently-developed games with similar gameplay mechanics as well as learning tools using a real guitar in place of the controller. Older artists featured in Guitar Hero and Rock Band have experience a surge in the popularity of their music, and the games have been seen as a way for younger audiences to experience these classics. Newer bands and unsigned artists have also found success by being included in the game. This has led several bands to actively seek placement of their songs within the games. The impact of Guitar Hero on the music industry has caused music publishers to re-evaluate their approach to music licensing and their relationship with the video game industry.
In entertainment
The series' titles became very popular party games, which led them to be played in a variety of locales. Several bars in the United States & Canada are offering "Guitar Hero nights" as an alternative to karaokeKaraoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
; one New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
bar experienced triple the business on such nights. Many concert tours, including the Family Values Tour
Family Values Tour
The Family Values Tour was created by the band Korn in 1998 to be an annual rock & rap tour.The tour began in 1998 and would take the year off in 2000, due to heavy competition from other tours, such as the Anger Management Tour and the Summer Sanitarium Tour. After a four year hiatus, the Family...
feature Guitar Hero booths and contests between sets. Guitar Hero is responsible for introducing people to rock music and inspiring them to learn how to play guitar. A study by Youth Music found that 2.5 million out of 12 million children in the United Kingdom have begun learning how to play real instruments after playing music video games such as Guitar Hero; the group believes that these video games can be incorporated into music educational programs. Activision has teamed with the United Service Organizations
United Service Organizations
The United Service Organizations Inc. is a private, nonprofit organization that provides morale and recreational services to members of the U.S. military, with programs in 160 centers worldwide. Since 1941, it has worked in partnership with the Department of Defense , and has provided support and...
to provide monetary support and copies of Guitar Hero III to the United States armed forces
United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...
around the world.
In health and treatment
Guitar Hero has proven to be a useful tool in the development of children and as recovery for various injuries. Salon.comSalon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
states that the games helped an 8-year-old guitarist learn sensitivity to rhythm, as well as develop the dexterity and independent hand usage necessary to play the instrument. Guitar Hero has been used alongside physical therapy
Physical therapy
Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
to help recovering stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
patients as the games help with multiple limb coordination between fingering and stroking. Blondie
Blondie (band)
Blondie is an American rock band, founded by singer Deborah Harry and guitarist Chris Stein. The band was a pioneer in the early American New Wave and punk scenes of the mid-1970s...
drummer Clem Burke
Clem Burke
Clem Burke is an American musician who is the drummer for the band Blondie. Recruited by Chris Stein and Debbie Harry when they were first forming Blondie, Burke remained with the band through its first stage and later returned for its late 1990s reunion and then its extensive 2009 tour.Following...
has worked with researchers at the University of Chichester
University of Chichester
The University of Chichester is a university based in West Sussex, England. Campuses are based in the city of Chichester and the nearby coastal resort of Bognor Regis...
and the University of Gloucestershire
University of Gloucestershire
The University of Gloucestershire is a university primarily based in Gloucestershire, England, spread over four campuses, three in Cheltenham and one in Gloucester...
to determine how games like Guitar Hero can address issues of "child
Childhood obesity
Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or wellbeing. As methods to determine body fat directly are difficult, the diagnosis of obesity is often based on BMI. Due to the rising prevalence of obesity in children and its many adverse health effects...
and adult obesity
Obesity
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
, autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
, stroke patients and health and mental well-being in the workplace". Researchers at Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
have used Guitar Hero III and its controller to help amputee patients and to develop new prosthetic limbs for these patients. Researchers at Nevada Reno University have been able to modify a haptic feedback glove to work with the Guitar Hero freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
clone, Frets on Fire
Frets on Fire
Frets on Fire is a free, open-source Finnish music video game created by Unreal Voodoo. Players use the keyboard to play along with markers which appear on screen, with the aim to score points, achieve a high point multiplier, and complete a song...
, to create Blind Hero, a music game that works on touch and audio only to appeal the game to visually impaired players. Guitar Hero was used as part of a Trent University
Trent University
Trent University is a liberal arts and science-oriented institution located along the Otonabee River in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada.The enabling legislation is the Trent University Act, 1962-63. The University was founded through the efforts of a citizens' committee interested in creating a...
youth sleep study which showed that players generally were better on replaying a song they had just been introduced to twelve hours later if that period included normal sleep.
On the video game industry
Activision stated on January 21, 2008 that North American sales from all of the Guitar Hero franchise have exceeded one billion dollarsUnited States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
with over 16 million units sold, excluding downloadable content. Over 20 million songs have been sold as downloadable content as of July 2008, and 34 million by May 2009. As of October 9, 2008, the series has sold 23 million units with sales of US$1.6 billion, and as of May 2009 has earned US$2 billion at retail. Activision claims that Guitar Hero is the third largest video game franchise after the Mario
Mario (series)
The video game series, alternatively called the series or simply the series, is a series of highly popular and critically acclaimed video games by Nintendo, featuring Nintendo's mascot Mario and, in many games, his brother Luigi. Gameplay in the series often centers around jumping on and...
and Madden NFL
Madden NFL
Madden NFL is an American football video game series developed by Electronic Arts Tiburon for EA Sports. The game series is named after Pro Football Hall of Famer John Madden, a well-known former Super Bowl-winning coach of the Oakland Raiders and color commentator...
series, and is present in over 15 million households. Guitar Hero: World Tour along with other music games such as Rock Band 2 have surged the video game market in 2008; NPD Group
NPD Group
The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading North American market research company. The NPD Group consistently ranks among the top 25 market research companies in the independent Honomichl Top 50 report, which the media and the research industry acknowledge as a credible source of information on the market...
reports cited that music video games made up 19% of the overall software industry sales in July 2008, and 16% through November 2008, and contributing to a 32% year-to-date sector growth through July 2008. Total sales of music games doubled in 2008, with total sales of US$1.9 billion. Guitar Hero represented about half of that figure, with a total of $992M of retail sales in 2008, and was the highest selling brand of the year. At the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show
Consumer Electronics Show
The International Consumer Electronics Show is a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. Not open to the public, the Consumer Electronics Association-sponsored show typically hosts previews of products and new...
, Activision CEO Mike Griffith stated that Guitar Hero III is the first video game to exceed one billion dollars in total sales. Activision reported that the Guitar Hero franchise had 55% of the United States and European markets during the first quarter of 2009. Analysts expect 2009 to be a critical year to determine the future direction of music games, whether the sector will continue to grow or will remain stagnant. Early analysis of the first half of 2009 showed that sales of both Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchise games were down by half from the same period in 2008, likely due to fewer purchases of the more expensive game bundles that include one or more controllers, as well as large discounts on the prices of older games. Viacom, parent company of MTV Games, reported a 32% drop in 2009 second quarter profits, partially driven by weak sales of Rock Band amid the poor economy of the period.
The series has created a market for products outside of the video games. McFarlane Toys
McFarlane Toys
McFarlane Toys, a subsidiary of Todd McFarlane Productions, Inc., is a company started by Todd McFarlane that makes highly detailed models of characters from movies, comics, musicians, video games, and sport figures...
has developed a series of six-inch-tall figurines based on the characters from the game. Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner is an American film director, film producer and music video director. He is best known for directing the Rush Hour film series, The Family Man, Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Tower Heist. He was also a producer on the Fox drama series, Prison Break.- Early life :Ratner was...
, director for Rush Hour and X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film and the third in the X-Men series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones,...
, has stated that he wishes to bring a movie based on Guitar Hero to theaters. However, Activision, the publisher of the series, did not approve the idea of a film adaptation.
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
released Rock Revolution
Rock Revolution
Rock Revolution is a music video game developed by Zoë Mode and HB Studios and published by Konami. It was first revealed on May 15, 2008, and released on October 15, 2008 for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360...
in 2008 which features drums and guitar (the game does not include vocals) similar to Guitar Hero World Tour. PopStar Guitar
PopStar Guitar
-Gameplay:In PopStar Guitar, players embark on a journey as a budding guitarist with aspirations of becoming the ultimate pop music sensation. Throughout the game, players develop skills to help them achieve their goal of success on the main stage of a worldwide Battle of the Bands competition,...
for the PlayStation 2 and Wii systems, developed by XS Games
XS Games
XS Games, LLC is a New York-based publisher of budget-priced video games, operating in North America and Europe. They are exclusively distributed by Take 2 Interactive and Jack of All Games in the U.S.-Sony Playstation games:*Jigsaw Madness...
, features gameplay similar to the Guitar Hero series, but features pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, as opposed to rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
. Digital Praise
Digital Praise
Digital Praise is Christian-themed video and computer game developer. It won the Addy Awards for "Mixed Media Campaign" in 2008. It has produced Dance Praise, Guitar Praise, Adventures in Odyssey computer games, VeggieTales' Dance, Dance, Dance, and other video games....
released a Christian rock
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
-themed guitar-based game called Guitar Praise
Guitar Praise
Guitar Praise is a Christian rhythm video game for PC. Published by Digital Praise, it uses contemporary Christian music with gameplay akin to that of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band games, although it is only compatible with its own wired and cordless USB guitar controllers. A second guitar can be...
also in 2008. Guitar Rising
Guitar Rising
Guitar Rising is a forthcoming educational music video game developed by GameTank to teach the guitar. It is to be similar to Rock Band and the Guitar Hero franchise, but use an actual guitar, which can be of any model, by plugging a guitar-USB adapter or jack plug into a microphone port or...
, to be published for personal computers by Game Tank by 2009, is based on using a real guitar in order to perfect one's skills. Drum King is a game promoted by Rolling Stone for the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
that uses two Wii remotes as virtual drumsticks. Frets on Fire
Frets on Fire
Frets on Fire is a free, open-source Finnish music video game created by Unreal Voodoo. Players use the keyboard to play along with markers which appear on screen, with the aim to score points, achieve a high point multiplier, and complete a song...
is an open-source
Open-source software
Open-source software is computer software that is available in source code form: the source code and certain other rights normally reserved for copyright holders are provided under a software license that permits users to study, change, improve and at times also to distribute the software.Open...
clone of Guitar Hero for personal computers that features freely available independent songs and allows users to create their own note tracks. Other games based on Guitar Hero include Battle of the Bands
Battle of the Bands (video game)
Battle of the Bands is a video game published by THQ and developed by Planet Moon Studios for the Wii console...
and Ultimate Band
Ultimate Band
Ultimate Band is a music video game for the Nintendo DS & Wii. It is developed by Fall Line Studios, and published by Disney Interactive Studios.-Gameplay:...
. Guitar Hero has also influenced other games outside of the music game genre. Tim Schafer
Tim Schafer
Timothy Schafer is an American computer game designer. He founded Double Fine Productions in January 2000, after having spent over a decade at LucasArts...
credits Harmonix and the first Guitar Hero game to help establish his pitching of his heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
-inspired game, Brütal Legend
Brütal Legend
Brütal Legend is an action-adventure/real-time strategy game created by Double Fine Productions and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released during October 2009 in North America and Europe...
, due to the increase in popularity of metal music from the success of Guitar Hero. Guitar controllers have been repurposed as controls for an independently-developed platform game, Fret Nice. Rock of the Dead for the Wii is based on combining the aspects of The Typing of the Dead
The Typing of the Dead
The Typing of the Dead is an arcade game , released in 1999 based on The House of the Dead 2...
with using a Guitar Hero guitar controller to fend off zombies. A PlayStation Home
PlayStation Home
PlayStation Home is a virtual 3D social gaming network developed by Sony Computer Entertainment's London Studio for the PlayStation 3 on the PlayStation Network . It is available directly from the PlayStation 3 XrossMediaBar under PlayStation Network. Membership is free, and only requires a PSN...
themed space based on Guitar Hero, called "Guitar Hero: Backstage", was released on March 26, 2009 in North Americas version, and includes a "Simon says
Simon says
Simon says is a children's game for three or more players where one player takes the role of 'Simon' and issues instructions, to the other players, which should only be followed if prefaced with the phrase 'Simon says', for example 'Simon says jump in the air'...
"-like minigame called "Guitar Hero-Master of Rock", themed objects, and videos for the user.
Guitar Hero has also been considered to have made the use of special peripherals more commonplace and acceptable for consumers for games that followed, including Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
's Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
console and games such as Mario Kart Wii
Mario Kart Wii
is a racing video game developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development and published by Nintendo for the Wii video game console. It is the sixth installment in the Mario Kart series and the second Mario Kart title to use the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. The game was released worldwide...
and Wii Fit
Wii Fit
is a video game developed by Nintendo for the company's home video game console, Wii, designed by Hiroshi Matsunaga. It is an exercise game consisting of activities using the Wii Balance Board peripheral...
.
Fan sites have also arisen to provide news and forums related to the Guitar Hero series. Scorehero is one such site that includes both forums and informal tracking of players' scores for both the Guitar Hero and Rock Band series; the site has received donations from Harmonix president Alex Rigopulos
Alex Rigopulos
Alexander Peter "Alex" Rigopulos is the CEO of Harmonix Music Systems, a company he founded with Eran Egozy in 1995. Rigopulos personally cites Japanese game designers Masaya Matsuura, Tetsuya Mizuguchi, and Keita Takahashi as some artists that have inspired his work at Harmonix...
, and site members have been invited to pre-release demonstrations of upcoming games, often leading to information about tracks in these games.
Guitar Hero now holds a place in the Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
in their Gamers Edition, tracking the highest score on a single song (Dragonforce's "Through the Fire and Flames") in Guitar Hero III; the record has held by both Chris Chike and Daniel Johnson, each outdoing each other in subsequent attempts; Johnson is the present holder of the record. Chike has received additional notice for full comboing Dragonforce's "Through the Fire and Flames". Both players' reputations have earned them spokepersons deals, Chike for The Ant Commandos
The Ant Commandos
The Ant Commandos, Inc. is a designer, manufacturer and distributor of peripherals and accessories for video game consoles based out of Chino, California...
, a third-party peripheral controller maker, and Johnson for eMazingGaming.com, a video game event promoter. Guinness also awarded the series ten world records in the Gamer's Edition 2008, including "Best Selling Guitar Based Game" and "Biggest Funeral for a Fictional Object", when in November 2006 a funeral for the air guitar
Air guitar
Playing air guitar is a form of dance and movement in which the performer pretends to play rock or heavy metal-style electric guitar, including riffs, solos, etc. Playing an air guitar usually consists of exaggerated strumming and picking motions and is often coupled with loud singing or lip-synching...
was held in London, England as a publicity stunt for Guitar Hero IIs release.
On the music industry
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
s in the 1980s. Both licensed and indie bands whose works have been included in the Guitar Hero games have gained further popularity from this inclusion. Both record companies and retailers have experienced increases of 200% to 300% in sales of songs after their inclusion in the series. Every Guitar Hero III song tracked by Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
(62 of 70) saw an increase in digital download sales the week ending December 30, 2007, when many who got the game as a gift were playing it, and every song included in Guitar Hero III and Rock Band saw downloaded sales increase during 2007 between 15% to 843%. A survey conducted by Brown University
Brown University
Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...
s Kiri Miller found that 76% of the players of Guitar Hero bought the music they heard in the game. Indie group Bang Camaro
Bang Camaro
Bang Camaro is an American hard rock band from Boston, Massachusetts. Founded by guitarists Bryn Bennett and Alex Necochea in 2005, it is composed of members of various indie rock bands from the area...
's recognition increased after their song "Push Push (Lady Lightning)" appeared in Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero II
Guitar Hero II is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems and published by RedOctane. It is the second installment in the Guitar Hero series and is the sequel to Guitar Hero...
. The band DragonForce
DragonForce
DragonForce are an English power metal band from London. Formed in 1999, the group is known for its long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-based lyrics, and electronic sounds in their music to add to their retro video game-influenced sound. Guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman are the only two...
, whose song "Through the Fire and Flames
Through the Fire and Flames
"Through the Fire and Flames" is a song by English power metal band DragonForce. The song is acclaimed as the most successful song by the band. The song is a single as well as the opening track from DragonForce's third album, Inhuman Rampage, and features rapid twin guitar solos by Herman Li and...
" is featured as a bonus song in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock is a music video game, the third main installment in the Guitar Hero series, and the fourth title overall...
, saw a 126% increase in CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
sales in the week after the release of the game, and downloads of the song, selling fewer than 2,000 weekly, rose to more than 10,000 after Guitar Hero III
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
saw an increase in sales at the same time Guitar Hero games containing their songs were released, such as a modest increase in download sales for its "Same Old Song and Dance
Same Old Song and Dance
"Same Old Song and Dance" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. The song was written by lead singer Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry. It was released on March 19, 1974 as the lead single of their second studio album, Get Your Wings...
", which rose to 2,041 from 374 copies the previous week; a 40% increase in the band's catalog was seen in the weeks following the release of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith. According to Activision CEO Bobby Kotick, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith has made more money for Aerosmith than any of their previous albums. Both Guitar Hero and Rock Band are seen as new methods of music distribution; an analysis for market research company NPD Group
NPD Group
The NPD Group, Inc. is a leading North American market research company. The NPD Group consistently ranks among the top 25 market research companies in the independent Honomichl Top 50 report, which the media and the research industry acknowledge as a credible source of information on the market...
states that "As the video games industry grows, it's becoming an ever-more attractive promotional outlet for all kinds of industries." The games have also been seen as a way to introduce younger generations to music of the past; bands such as Living Colour
Living Colour
Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. Stylistically, the band's music is a creative fusion influenced by free jazz, funk, neo-psychedelia, hard rock, and heavy metal...
, Warrant
Warrant (American band)
Warrant is an American heavy metal band from Hollywood, California, that experienced success from 1989-1996 with five albums reaching international sales of over 10 million. The band first came into the national spotlight with their debut album Dirty Rotten Filthy Stinking Rich, and one of its...
, The Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
, Poison
Poison (band)
Poison is an American glam metal band that achieved great success in the mid-1980s to mid-1990s. To date, Poison has sold over 30 million records worldwide and have sold 15 million records in the United States alone. The band has also charted ten singles to the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100,...
, and Ratt
Ratt
Ratt is an American heavy metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s. The band is best known for songs such as "Round and Round," "Wanted Man," "Lay It Down," "You're in Love", "Slip of the Lip", "Back For More", "Dance", "Body Talk", "I Want a Woman", and "Way Cool Jr." Ratt...
have seen interest in their music rise due to the inclusion of their songs in the Guitar Hero or Rock Band, as well as other music video games. Joel Peresman, president and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
, attributes surges in attendance to the museum in 2008-2009, particularly in families with young children, in part to the success of Guitar Hero and Rock Band. The popularity of downloadable content
Downloadable content
Downloadable content is official additional content for a video game distributed through the Internet. Downloadable content can be of several types, ranging from a single in-game outfit to an entirely new, extensive storyline, similarly to an expansion pack. As such, DLC may add new game modes,...
for music games has led the UK Official Download Chart
UK Official Download Chart
The UK Official Download Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the music industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being published on a Wednesday afternoon, so as to not to clash with the release of the main UK Singles Chart...
to consider including these sales in their compilation of sales performance data.
Bands or those that control the copyrights on bands' works have been in talks with the makers and distributions of both Guitar Hero and Rock Band as methods of achieving more exposure for the band. Following the announcement of Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, Martin N. "Marty" Bandier, executive for Sony/ATV which owns the copyrights on The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
compositions, stated he was very interested in helping Activision bring a Beatles-themed Guitar Hero title to the market in a similar fashion. Both Activision and MTV Games were in talks with representatives of the Beatles to create a Beatles-themed game, until MTV Games secured an exclusive license with Apple Corps, Ltd. to produce The Beatles: Rock Band
The Beatles: Rock Band
The Beatles: Rock Band is a 2009 music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It is the third major console release in the Rock Band music video game series, in which players can simulate the playing of rock music by using...
. Groups such as Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
, The Eagles, Steely Dan
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...
and Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
have working deals with these companies to include their songs within future games. Other artists, having playing Guitar Hero or Rock Band, may approach the game developers to ask for inclusion of songs specifically for their adaptability into playable tracks. However, not all bands are comfortable with this: Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band, active in the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Formed in 1968, they consisted of guitarist Jimmy Page, singer Robert Plant, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham...
has turned down offers from both games to include their music due to concerns that Jimmy Page
Jimmy Page
James Patrick "Jimmy" Page, OBE is an English multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. He began his career as a studio session guitarist in London and was subsequently a member of The Yardbirds from 1966 to 1968, after which he founded the English rock band Led Zeppelin.Jimmy Page...
and other members of the band have with releasing the master recordings of their music. There are also cases where bands want to be included, but the master recording
Master recording
A multitrack recording master tape, disk or computer files on which productions are developed for later mixing, is known as the multi-track master, while the tape, disk or computer files holding a mix is called a mixed master.It is standard practice to make a copy of a master recording, known as...
s have been lost or are unusable. Some bands such as the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
, Living Colour
Living Colour
Living Colour is an American rock band from New York City, formed in 1984. Stylistically, the band's music is a creative fusion influenced by free jazz, funk, neo-psychedelia, hard rock, and heavy metal...
, and Aerosmith
Aerosmith
Aerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "The Bad Boys from Boston" and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". Their style, which is rooted in blues-based hard rock, has come to also incorporate elements of pop, heavy metal, and rhythm and blues, and has inspired many...
have rerecorded these songs, while other bands have been able to provide concert
Concert
A concert is a live performance before an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, a choir, or a musical band...
"live" master recordings. However, some larger artists are unable to do so. Neversoft director Brian Bright states that they do not expect to acquire songs from Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
and Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
due to such reasons. With the pending release of The Beatles: Rock Band, Pink Floyd is also in active discussions to include its music in either Guitar Hero or Rock Band, according to representatives for EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
.
Guitar Hero and other rock music-based games work with record companies to license each song for its use, costing a per-song average of $25,000 for the rights to use a master recording and $10,000 for the rights to make a cover. The impact of Guitar Hero and Rock Band has caused record companies to create dedicated video game liaisons to handle the inclusions of songs in these games. The record and game companies work together to tie in releases of downloadable content with album releases and concert appearances, such as by the simultaneous release of Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's Death Magnetic album and as playable Guitar Hero tracks. However, some in the music industry have raised concerns that the music labels are not receiving fair compensation considering the success of the games. Edgar Bronfman Jr., chairman and chief executive for Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group is the third largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the big four record companies...
, stated that "The amount being paid to the industry, even though their games are entirely dependent on the content that we own and control, is far too small." Tim Riley, vice president of music affairs at Activision, believes that the increase in popularity of the game series has led more people, including musicians and music labels, to want to be part of the success: "The number of people interested in being associated with the game is probably a thousand times more than we can get into the game." Activision CEO Robert Kotick has stated, in response to the record company's claims, that the impact that the Guitar Hero games have caused game developers and publishers to question if they "should be paying any money at all and whether it should be the reverse." Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1981. The group was founded by bass guitarist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil...
manager Allen Kovac noted that artists make a larger share of the sale of each downloaded game song compared to iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, and that bands that own their own master recordings earn even a larger percentage from music licensing rights. Michael Pachter, an industry analyst for Wedbush Morgan, noted that Guitar Hero is not dependent on a single record label, as there is nearly a 2000-year supply of songs available at the current rate of content releases, and a full music industry denial to the game series could lead to anti-trust measures. Patcher also contrasted Bronfman's view, stating that users are not buying the games for the songs, but for the game, with each song providing its own challenge. However, analysis believe that Activision's attitude on music licensing may have influenced the decision of Apple Corps, Ltd. to give the lucrative licensing agreement for The Beatles' music to MTV Games, who were more flexible in their negotiations.
Some musicians have been critical of Guitar Heros impact on the industry. Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
of The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
stated that he was disappointed to learn that video games are the most likely venue where younger audiences will be exposed to new works, while Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin does not believe that people can learn how to play real instruments from their video game counterparts. Similarly, Prince has turned down opportunities to have his music in the series, stating that he felt that it was "more important that kids learn how to actually play the guitar".
In popular culture
Guitar Hero II is the centerpiece of an episode of South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...
titled "Guitar Queer-O
Guitar Queer-o
"Guitar Queer-O" is episode 1113 of Comedy Central's South Park, which aired on November 7, 2007. The title and plot parody the video game Guitar Hero. The episode aired ten days after the release of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock in the US....
", in which Stan and Kyle overindulge in Guitar Hero II and become treated as though they were real-life rock stars. The episode was first broadcast on November 7, 2007, ten days after the American release of Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. Metalocalypse
Metalocalypse
Metalocalypse is an American animated television series, created by Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha, which premiered on August 6, 2006 on Adult Swim...
(created by Titmouse Studio, who also provided cutscene animations within the Guitar Hero game) has made reference to Guitar Hero; in one example, the episode "Dethkids," a sick child composes a song for Dethklok rhythm guitarist Toki Wartooth using a Guitar Hero controller. Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season....
has played Guitar Hero several times in 2008 during the monologue of her syndicated talk show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
The Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
. In the January 25, 2008, episode she is seen playing along to "Barracuda
Barracuda (song)
"Barracuda" is a song written and recorded by the rock band Heart. It was released as the first single from the band's second album Little Queen .-Reception:...
", which segues to Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
performing the song for the audience. During the season 7 finale of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
, finalists David Cook
David Cook (singer)
David Roland Cook is an American rock singer-songwriter, who rose to fame after winning the seventh season of the reality television show American Idol...
and David Archuleta
David Archuleta
David Archuleta, is a former United States Air Force Airman of Okinawan stationary troops and is currently an American male kickboxer.-Biography:...
appeared in separate commercials for the games, where they each parodied Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
dancing to "Old Time Rock and Roll
Old Time Rock and Roll
"Old Time Rock and Roll" is the title of a song by Bob Seger featured on his 1978 album Stranger in Town and released as a single in 1979. It is a nostalgic look at the music of a previous generation. The song was featured in the Tom Cruise film Risky Business and gained widespread fame because of...
" in the movie Risky Business
Risky Business
Risky Business is a 1983 American teen comedy-drama film written by Paul Brickman in his directorial debut. It stars Tom Cruise and Rebecca De Mornay. The hit film launched Cruise to stardom.-Plot:...
. This parody has been used by director Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner is an American film director, film producer and music video director. He is best known for directing the Rush Hour film series, The Family Man, Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Tower Heist. He was also a producer on the Fox drama series, Prison Break.- Early life :Ratner was...
to create advertisements for Guitar Hero World Tour, featuring celebrities such as Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school...
, Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk
Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk , nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American retired professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision...
, Alex Rodriguez
Alex Rodriguez
Alexander Emmanuel "Alex" Rodriguez is an American professional baseball third baseman with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. Known popularly by his nickname A-Rod, he previously played shortstop for the Seattle Mariners and the Texas Rangers.Rodriguez is considered one of the best...
, Michael Phelps
Michael Phelps
Michael Fred Phelps is an American swimmer who has, overall, won 16 Olympic medals—six gold and two bronze at Athens in 2004, and eight gold at Beijing in 2008, becoming the most successful athlete at both of these Olympic Games editions...
, Corbin Bleu
Corbin Bleu
Corbin Bleu Reivers , known professionally as Corbin Bleu, is an American actor, model, dancer, producer, and singer-songwriter. He performed in the High School Musical film series, the Discovery Kids drama series Flight 29 Down, and the Disney Channel Original Movie Jump In!...
, Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum
Heidi Samuel , better known by her birth name Heidi Klum, is a German model, actress, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and occasional singer. In 2008 she became an American citizen while maintaining her native German citizenship...
, and Marisa Miller
Marisa Miller
Marisa Lee Miller is an American model best known for her appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues and her work for lingerie retailer Victoria's Secret. After a stint shooting with photographer Mario Testino for fashion magazines like Vogue, Miller began working for both companies in...
.
Political cartoonist Steve Breen
Steve Breen
Stephen Paul Breen is a nationally syndicated cartoonist. He twice won the Pulitzer Prize, in 1998 and 2009....
illustrated a cartoon where Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
received Guitar Hero as a gift from visiting President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, a parody of Obama's visit to England in April 2009 during which he gave Queen Elizabeth II an iPod
IPod
iPod is a line of portable media players created and marketed by Apple Inc. The product line-up currently consists of the hard drive-based iPod Classic, the touchscreen iPod Touch, the compact iPod Nano, and the ultra-compact iPod Shuffle...
.
A 2009 Close to Home
Close to Home (comic strip)
Close to Home is a daily, one-panel comic strip by John McPherson that debuted in 1992. The comic strip features no ongoing plot, but is instead a collection of one-shot jokes covering a number of subjects that are "close to home," such as marriage, children, school, work, sports, health and home...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
portrayed a young boy blowing into a tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
-shaped joystick while playing a video game, as his parents cover their ears, with the caption: "Despite the success of Guitar Hero, Tuba Hero bombs big-time."
During Halftime of MLS Cup 2009
MLS Cup 2009
The 2009 MLS Cup was the championship match of the 2009 Major League Soccer season, the 14th season of the league. The final was played at Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington on November 22, 2009. The match was contested by Eastern Conference champion Real Salt Lake and Western Conference champion...
two league players, Jimmy Conrad
Jimmy Conrad
James "Jimmy" Conrad is a retired American soccer defender who last played for Chivas USA in Major League Soccer.-High School and College:...
of the Kansas City Wizards
Kansas City Wizards
Sporting Kansas City is an American professional soccer club based in Kansas City, Kansas that competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States of America and Canada...
and Freddy Montero
Freddy Montero
Fredy Henkyer Montero Muñoz is a Colombian footballer who plays for Seattle Sounders FC in Major League Soccer.-Deportivo Cali:...
of Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders FC
Seattle Sounders FC is an American professional soccer club based in Seattle, Washington. The club competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada. Sounders FC was established in November 2007 as a MLS expansion team, making it the 15th team in...
faced off to Michael Jackson's
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
"Beat It
Beat It
"Beat It" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones . It is the third single from the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller . Eddie Van Halen was hired to add the song's distinctive overdriven guitar solo, but was prevented by his...
" in Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour
Guitar Hero World Tour is a music video game developed by Neversoft and published by RedOctane and Activision. It is the fourth main entry in the Guitar Hero series...
.
A scene, written into the script by Vince Vaughn
Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony "Vince" Vaughn is an American film actor, screenwriter, producer and comedian. He began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 movie Swingers...
, in Couples Retreat
Couples Retreat
Couples Retreat is a 2009 American comedy film written and directed by Peter Billingsley with contributions to the script by Jon Favreau, Vince Vaughn, Dana Fox, Curtis Hanson, and Greg Beeman. Vaughn and Favreau star with Faizon Love, Jason Bateman, Kristin Davis, Kristen Bell, Malin Åkerman and...
features Vaughn's character challenging a resort employee to a Guitar Hero 5-faceoff.
MC Lars
MC Lars
Andrew Robert MacFarlane Nielsen is an American rapper, known by his stage name MC Lars. He is the self-proclaimed originator of "post-punk laptop rap". He was one of the first underground rappers to sample and reference post-punk and emo bands...
' This Gigantic Robot Kills
This Gigantic Robot Kills
This Gigantic Robot Kills is the sixth album by nerdcore musician MC Lars.Lars has stated that he worked with "Weird Al" Yankovic, the Rondo Brothers, Nick Rowe and Mike Kennedy of Bloodsimple, James Bourne of Busted, Daniel Dart of Time Again, Donal Finn of Flash Bastard, Pierre Bouvier of Simple...
includes a song called "Guitar Hero Hero (Beating Guitar Hero Does Not Make You Slash
Slash (musician)
Saul Hudson , known by his stage name Slash, is a British-American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the American hard rock band Guns N' Roses, with whom he achieved worldwide success in the late 1980s and early 1990s. During his later years with Guns N'...
)", poking fun at frequent players of GH. It features a solo from Paul Gilbert
Paul Gilbert
Paul Brandon Gilbert is an American guitarist. He is well known for his technical guitar work with Racer X and Mr...
. (The song's lyrics reference the following real-guitar players in addition to those two: Robert Johnson, Dimebag Darrell
Dimebag Darrell
Darrell Lance Abbott , also known as Diamond Darrell and Dimebag Darrell, was an American guitarist. He was best known as a founding member of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan. Abbott also contributed to the album Rebel Meets Rebel, a collaboration between Pantera and David Allan Coe...
, Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
and Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
.) Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
's music video for her song "Touch My Body
Touch My Body
"Touch My Body" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, taken from her eleventh studio album, E=MC² . It was written and produced by Carey, along with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Crystal "Cri$tyle" Johnson and Terius "The Dream" Nash, and was released as the album's lead single on...
" features a nerd strumming on a Guitar Hero controller. The music video for San Diego rock band Switchfoot
Switchfoot
Switchfoot is an American rock band from San Diego, California. The band's members are Jon Foreman , Tim Foreman , Chad Butler , Jerome Fontamillas , and Drew Shirley .After early successes in the Christian rock scene, Switchfoot first gained mainstream...
's song "Awakening
Awakening (song)
"Awakening" is the second single off Switchfoot's sixth studio album, Oh! Gravity.. The single was released to radio in March 2007. It hit Hot AC radio stations with an impact day of March 26, 2007 and eventually peaked at No. 54 on that format's charts...
" featured two men going home and competing separately on Guitar Hero, using stop-motion cardboard cutouts to simulate the video game interface. The music video for Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
's "We Made You
We Made You
"We Made You" is a song by American hip hop musician Eminem. It was released as the first single from his sixth studio album Relapse on April 7, 2009. Produced by Dr. Dre and co-produced by Doc Ish and Eminem himself, the song samples "Hot Summer Nights" by Walter Egan. Eminem performed this song...
" includes portions of the song where Eminem is singing in front of a Guitar Hero-like note highway. The video for Brad Paisley
Brad Paisley
Brad Douglas Paisley is an American singer-songwriter and musician. His style crosses between traditional country music and Southern rock, and his songs are frequently laced with humor and pop culture references....
's video for "Start a Band
Start a Band
"Start a Band" is the title of a country music song written by Dallas Davidson, Ashley Gorley and Kelley Lovelace. It was recorded as a duet between Brad Paisley and Keith Urban for Paisley's sixth studio album, Play. Released as the only single from that album, it is also one of only four...
", featuring Keith Urban
Keith Urban
Keith Lionel Urban is a New Zealand-born Australian, country music singer, songwriter and guitarist whose commercial success has been mainly in the United States and Australia. Urban was born in New Zealand and began his career in Australia at an early age...
, includes a Guitar Hero-like "Guitar Showdown" video game as part of the video's story.
The series' popularity spread to the sports world; Detroit Tigers
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team located in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit in as part of the Western League. The Tigers have won four World Series championships and have won the American League pennant...
' pitcher Joel Zumaya
Joel Zumaya
Joel Martin Zumaya is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher known for his record-breaking fastballs.-Baseball career:...
injured himself during the 2006 playoffs playing Guitar Hero. In professional wrestling
Professional wrestling
Professional wrestling is a mode of spectacle, combining athletics and theatrical performance.Roland Barthes, "The World of Wrestling", Mythologies, 1957 It takes the form of events, held by touring companies, which mimic a title match combat sport...
, former TNA Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...
tag team of Jimmy Rave
Jimmy Rave
James Guffey is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Jimmy Rave. He is best known for working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling...
and Lance Rock
Lance Hoyt
Lance Hoyt is an American professional wrestler, currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling as Lance Archer. He is best known for his work in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, where he is a two time NWA World Tag Team Champion with Kid Kash while the title was under the TNA banner...
, known as The Rock 'n Rave Infection, have a gimmick of dressing as characters from the game and strumming the guitar controllers on their way to the ring.
The name "Guitar Hero" is often juxtapositioned
Random juxtaposition
Random juxtaposition refers to the stimulation of creativity in problem solving, design or other creative pursuit by confronting two unrelated concepts or objects, usually the goal or problem to be solved on the one hand and a randomly selected object or concept on the other. Similar to an oxymoron....
with other instruments or other tools for humorous effects. There are T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s available from at least one vendor, parodying the Guitar Hero logo with a number of different instruments, from violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
to bagpipes
Bagpipes
Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from...
. Marketing for The Simpsons Game
The Simpsons Game
The Simpsons Game is an action/platformer video game based on the animated television series The Simpsons, made for the Wii, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation Portable. The game was developed, published, and distributed by Electronic Arts. It was released in North...
included mock posters for "Sitar
Sitar
The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...
Hero", depicting The Simpsons character Apu
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon
Apu Nahasapeemapetilon is a character in the animated television series The Simpsons. He is voiced by Hank Azaria and first appeared in the episode "The Telltale Head". Apu is the proprietor of the Kwik-E-Mart, a popular convenience store in Springfield, and a friend of Homer Simpson. He is also...
with a controller with 21 buttons, a parody Harmonix praised. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
released an April Fools'
April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around the world on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness...
article in 2006 announcing "Cowbell Hero" as a successor to the first game, referencing the "More cowbell
More Cowbell
"More cowbell" is an American pop culture catchphrase originally derived from an April 8, 2000, Saturday Night Live comedy sketch which fictionalized the recording of the song " The Reaper" by Blue Öyster Cult...
" skit from Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. Also, a "Cowbell Hero" T-shirt appears among Chuck's collection of shirts in an episode of the NBC series, Chuck
Chuck (TV series)
Chuck is an action-comedy/spy-drama television program from the United States created by Josh Schwartz and Chris Fedak. The series is about an "average computer-whiz-next-door" named Chuck, played by Zachary Levi, who receives an encoded e-mail from an old college friend now working for the Central...
. One Penny Arcade
Penny Arcade (webcomic)
Penny Arcade is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website loonygames.com. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have established their own site, which is typically updated with a new comic...
comic strip
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
envisioned a game entitled "Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
Hero", which has become a design for one of their t-shirts. A 2008 FoxTrot Sunday comic showed the characters Jason and Marcus playing a video game called "Chamber Music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
Hero." The satirical newspaper The Onion
The Onion
The Onion is an American news satire organization. It is an entertainment newspaper and a website featuring satirical articles reporting on international, national, and local news, in addition to a non-satirical entertainment section known as The A.V. Club...
published an article entitled "Activision Reports Sluggish Sales For Sousaphone
Sousaphone
The sousaphone is a type of tuba that is widely employed in marching bands. Designed so that it fits around the body of the musician and is supported by the left shoulder, the sousaphone may be readily played while being carried...
Hero."
On March 2010, the Office For National Statistics (UK) announced that Guitar Hero will be used to gauge the country's inflation risk. Viacom Inc.’s “Rock Band” was also included to reflect changes in (UK) consumer spending.
A Guitar Hero reality show could be developed in the future, along with a possible concert tour.