Rock Band and Guitar Hero = Plagarism Works

Here’s a loose timeline of peripheral-based music games in the US:

2006: “Wow…guitars and video games?!  Rock and roll has never been lazier and more accessible!!”

2007 & 2008: “Rock Band and Guitar Hero have drums and multiple guitars?!?!  I’ve got to start making friends.  I am such a rock star.”

2009: “$150 to role-play being a DJ?!?!  Yes!!  Friday-night rave sessions in my parents’ basement are going to improve significantly.”

2010: “Keyboards?!?!  Well…after investing $1000 in peripherals, DLC song packs, and most of my free time for the past 3 years…WHY THE HELL NOT?”

“How do they keep coming up with these brilliant ideas?”

Here’s a loose timeline of peripheral-based music games in Japan:

1999…THEY ALL FREAKING CAME OUT IN 1999!!!: Konami releases a series of games using turntables, guitars, drums, and keyboards.  The series continues through the present with yearly updates with each arcade version allowing players to access all previously included songs.

However, due to the series being only wildly successful, the president of Konami commits seppuku out of shame.

I wouldn’t be so incensed about this type of emulation if it wasn’t for the fact that both Rock Band and Guitar Hero are being put into court every couple of months with everything their associated with: lawsuits between game companies, between artists and game companies, and even actual guitar manufacturers over the shape of a plastic analogue.  Even KONAMI brought Rock Band to court in 2008, but Rock Band fired back with a gigantic middle finger while sitting ontop of a pile of $100 bills.

Stop patting them on the back for being “innovative” or “revolutionary”; they’re just both insanely successful at plagiarism.  KONAMI’s done all of this a decade ago, and they still continue to release content.  Rock Band and Guitar Hero have collectively sold more than $2.5 billion worth of retail merchandise and DLC, and they aren’t going to stop anytime soon.  This is something we may or may not want to teach our kids, but laziness and plagarism works: go onto Wikipedia for some stuff, alter the idea just enough to where you don’t have to think too hard, drink a Red Bull, pitch idea, get high fives, sit on laurels for the rest of your life.