Guitar Hero CEO Dan Rosensweig has said that there is still hope for the music/rhythm game genre as 80% of the current console market still remains untapped.
The news comes from this interview as he spoke of Guitar Hero’s battles in the economic wars:
“[Sales are] off to a very good start even though there’s a bad economy…Less than 20% of console owners have a music game. So, there is [an] upside. Also, we are only two years into [the franchise's launch] in Europe. And we haven’t even started thinking about Asia yet. There’s plenty of growth left…The game category has been affected [by the recession], but less than other consumer entertainment categories.”
Rosensweig hopes that the music game genre will still be the number 2 genre in video games for a second and third year in a row.
I have bought all of the main Guitar Hero series (outside of the first game), but I doubt I will be buying Guitar Hero 5…will you or have you already?
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I cant see that figure increasing much since everyone who wanted a music game will have probably bought one by now. I mean how much more can they penetrate when every new Guitar Hero, Rock Band etc. just adds new songs? Perhaps we will see more games based on particular bands; for instance, if they did an Oasis Rock Band then I would seriously consider investing in this market.
gladly i’ll never buy a music game. why because i play music in real life and there is no point to play there crappy games
@damphear
I play guitar, bass, piano, mandolin, and drums, all at a reasonably high level, and still enjoy playing music games. They still require skill, if maybe a different kind of skill than real music. However, if you love music, you love it in any medium it’s available. If it’s quality, it’s enjoyable. The “point” that you say they don’t have, is in fact to introduce younger audiences, or audiences in general, to new styles and new artists. If that’s not good for the industry, I don’t know what is.
@Tadow
Rock Band: Oasis would be the second greatest music game ever (behind The Beatles, of course)
Have to agree with Dylan. I play/have played bass, guitar and keyboard, but I enjoy these games because they are fun and, like Dylan said, it can introduce me to new artists. There’s nothing wrong with it…it’s not trying to replace real musicians, it’s a form of imitation – just like air guitar – and imitation is a form of art, just as music itself is artistic mimesis.