Rock Band and Guitar Hero: Musical Evolution?

So maybe you don’t quite remember 8-tracks, but chances are you’ve at least owned some cassette tapes in your lifetime. If you haven’t, then you were definitely born after 1990, and CDs are probably as old school as your music collection gets. The mini-disc never really caught on, but digital music sure found its niche after the MP3 and a little shareware program called Napster. Since then, music distribution has seen some interesting shifts. From USB albums to iTunes, music fans are always looking for new ways to hear their favorite bands. So what’s the next logical step? Rock Band and Guitar Hero, of course.

Rhythm games have made quite the impact on the music industry, far more than any Harmonix developer could have dreamed back in 2005. Back then, Guitar Hero was a small production and a totally new concept. Their game boasted a “massive” playlist of 47 popular songs, none of which were master recordings. The game’s only master tracks were rewarded as bonus material and were by an assortment of obscure bands. It’s funny to note how no major acts felt the urge to affiliate themselves with a game like Guitar Hero. Fast forward three years and Rock Band and Guitar Hero are practically fending off bands with a stick that wish to be included in their new titles.

With the release of Rock Band 2, and the approaching release of Guitar Hero World Tour, rhythm games are continuing to break new ground. Major bands have now started to make their new music exclusive to these titles in order to help promote their upcoming releases. Who would have thought Rock Band 2 would have been the first place you’d hear Shackler’s Revenge; the first new Guns N’ Roses song released to the masses in nearly ten years. Not to be outdone, Guitar Hero went and inked a deal with ’90s rockers Smashing Pumpkins to release their newest single G.L.O.W. exclusively on GHWT.

It truly is an ever-shifting world of music culture, and this newest trend is proof of such shifts. Bands can now gain massive exposure by simply having one of their songs appear in these games. Speaking from individual experience, I can say these games have broadened my musical taste by allowing me to hear and appreciate music on the edges of my personal preference that I wouldn’t have normally listened to. I’m sure this feeling is shared by more than a few, and this fact speaks volumes for the marketing potential of future rhythm games.

With RB 2 boasting a library of over 500 songs, the rhythm game revolution has officially begun. Full-length downloadable albums are now the norm for both RB and GH; add this to both their eclectic set lists and you have the beginning of something big. Obviously, this won’t be a music revolution comparable to that of the CD or iTunes, but its cultural impact is noticeable nonetheless. In the words of the great Bob Dylan, “the times they are a-changin’.”