Kotaku 
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Denver, 3:28 AM
Sat Dec 5
53 posts in the last 24 hours
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10/09/09
10/09/09
I used to be dead-set against music games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. I thought they were a waste of time and that kids should be practicing real instruments instead. Yes, I thumbed my nose at the music game genre and then put on my monocle and sipped a cup of Earl Grey.
A few summers ago I worked at a local band/orchestra/guitar retail store to pocket some money to pay for tuition. In the span of 2 1/2 months, I sold over $15,000 in guitars primarily to kids between the ages of 10-15. I'd never quite seen a run on guitars like this before. In my usual banter with customers while they're looking at instruments, I usually ask what's inspired the customer/recipient (in this case, mostly kids) to want to pick up the guitar. Answer in a shocking majority of purchases:
Guitar Hero and Rock Band
Fast forward to last winter where I'm student teaching with an elementary music program. I brought my Wii and a copy of Wii Music in as sort of a treat for kids who behaved well during class. Once every other week or so I'd let them play Wii Music for the last half of class (and every day during lunch when the weather outside was foul I'd have the music room open for them to play as well). A week or so after starting this I get a phone call from a parent that goes something like this:
Parent: Would you happen to know where I can rent a trumpet?
Me: Sure, here's the name of a music store I work for and contract with. Might I ask why you're interested?
Parent: Oh, [Child's name] said he enjoyed that Wii Music game you let him play during lunch so we went and bought a copy for home. He played a lot of the instruments in it and really liked the trumpet, we asked if he'd like to learn to play for real and he jumped at the chance.
I'm not sure if music games can actually teach music (though I think there's possibilities to teach rhythmic feel which is wonderful), but what I am sure of is that these music games have opened up a lot of possibilities for kids who would otherwise be uninterested. As far as I'm concerned, if music games can pull kids into music and perhaps inspire them to pick up real instruments, they are nothing short of successful.
10/09/09
10/09/09
Or better yet, in musician terms, a gateway drug.
10/09/09
10/09/09
Perfect for people like me!
10/09/09
Edit: OK, never mind.
10/09/09
10/09/09
That is all.
p.s. I have a picture but for some reason uploading is not working for me today.
10/09/09
10/09/09
Personally I think the Dreamcast was the first to pioneer both formats. Rez used music as a companion that accompanied you throughout the game. Although the interactions did not depend on music so to speak, the game became synonymous with beat creation.
Space Channel 5 was one of the first games based solely on music user interface reactions. Simon Says, but much much cooler. I might be wrong here but you could even go as far to say that SC5 was the precursor to the DDR game fad that was so popular at one time.
Wipeout is another that turned a corner in terms of musical involvement. Although it did not use music as a mechanism for gameplay, it was if I recall the first game to publicly market itself based upon what music the game actually contained. The game tailored itself around the electronic music explosion that hit the US and Europe during the mid 90's. At one point Sony showcased the game in trendy nightclubs across the country. The Soundtrack was as big of a hit as the game itself.
I won't venture into what Guitar Hero and the like has achieved or what the latest and greatest is, but it is nice to reflect on how Video games have proven to be an outstanding medium in terms of reaching out to people that would otherwise have no desire to pursue music in other ways.
*Whistles some Ocarina of Time tunes*
10/09/09
After explaining that it was video game music, he said "Why don't you play video game music like guitar hero?"
So there we have it, after a brief discussion he believed that all the songs in Guitar Hero was just well, from guitar hero.
I wanted to share.
10/09/09
Then I realized that maybe this kid is only new, and he had only played music games so far.
Then I reread the last paragraph, highlighted the "13 age" part, and sighed again.
10/09/09
10/09/09
10/09/09
Isn't that the song Battlestar Galactica wrote to use as a homing beacon? Whos this Jimi Hendrix guy, he must have copied them. :P
10/09/09
10/09/09
however, it's a good alternative for the 95% of the population who won't ever do that.
10/07/09
I fear the recession, isn't so finished recessing...
10/06/09
10/06/09
10/06/09
We get it, you don't like Activision or Bobby K. But this is housecleaning. It happens everywhere in all sizes, to all companies, pristine gaming companies like your Valve's and Double Fines included.
Every company in the world fires people, and if they don't, they make it miserable for those people until they quit. I dare you to find a game company that hasn't done either.
So Activision fires some people. You're welcome to speculate that there's some evil person behind it and that your boycotts will somehow make them die a fiery death. But really, this is hardly anything but housekeeping to balance the books. It just happens that Activision's houses and books are bigger. I know that conveniently your heart has grown to care for the people losing their jobs. But if you want to point blame, point at it at the company owner's for agreeing to be bought out. You can always say no.
10/06/09
10/06/09
10/06/09
First, I don't condone the buying and gutting of companies. However, to a publisher like Activision, these things make good business sense. Your Activisions, EAs, Take Twos, etc are always going to be doing things like this because it returns profit very effectively. Again, I don't agree, but I understand the strategy behind it.
A lot of us have been in the space long enough to recognize when companies are going to do things like that, especially in the last year with the economy weighing heavily on practically financial decision we make.
Because of that, we shouldn't blindly point our fingers at the big bad guy for gutting a small developer (something which we've come expect a lot more these days). What about the heads of these small companies that help facilitate the deals or the investors behind them? Those people have just as much incentive to see these types of deals through, knowing well their companies will have to make adjustments (read: cuts on behalf of the parent company). They, however, will see the same payday no matter what.
I think some of these people, not all, should be scrutinized and criticized as much as the publishing giants themselves.
That being said, stay vocal folks and let Activision know how you feel! If they continue to anger people, our voices might be the only thing that could set them straight.
10/06/09
10/06/09
I've worked in small, start-up software companies my entire career (not anywhere near the gaming industry, but there are similar dynamics) as both an employee and a founder. I've been part of successes and failures and had to shut a company down in a situation where some folks got jobs and others did not.
What I've always tried to do, as both an employee and an owner, is make sure that every is on equal footing WRT how they will be treated in the end game. This includes investors as well. No special terms, no special deals (little differences make for large disagreements). Sure some folks have a larger stake in the company, but if it gets sold they all get their share, straight up.
Now that can be hard to do and we have no idea whether or not that was the case here. It could be that all the money in the Activision deal went into the pockets of the studio founders, it could be that it was more evenly distributed. We also don't know what was said in advance of the deal. Was the studio led to believe that things would continue along - with the added clout of Activision or did they know that cuts were coming? If it was the latter did they let their employees know?
It is easy to have the knee-jerk - Activision bad - reaction (lord knows they've earned it), but the truth is often more complex. All that said - the whole buy out the studio working on a competing product, followed quickly by layoffs does set off all kinds of warning bells.
10/06/09
I wasn't really defending Kotick. I was actually trying to say that there are other parties involved with layoffs like these. Those guys are just as responsible as Kotick is and should receive some of the same collective hatred people show for high profile execs.
10/06/09
10/07/09
10/06/09
Or is it common to layoff 50% of a studio following completion of a project?
10/06/09
Nothing anyone says will ever make me feel bad about it.
Edit: And please don't sully Frazetta by associating him with Activision?
10/06/09
10/06/09
10/06/09
If you are so ardent in your hate that you can pass up MW2 on Day One- then my hat is off to you, good sir.
10/06/09
Silly, don't they know that that money goes to Kotick?
10/06/09
10/06/09
10/06/09
10/06/09
If there's not already an official boycott movement, we should make one. Take it to the media, show how they exploit the consumer and employee alike. It may not be enough to do any serious damage, but as long as they take a slight hit, I'll be happy.
10/06/09
10/06/09
10/06/09
Do what you want people, please! I just want to clarify a few things so we're all on the same page. Come along!
-Activision aquires developer.
-Activision cuts developer staff, leaving said cut staff out in the cold to die.
-To prevent Activision from doing this again, gamers boycott Activision games.
I follow so far, but let's note that Activision doesn't actually make these games, acquired studios do. So... where were we? Oh right!
-Gamers boycott Activision games.
-Activision cut even MORE studio staff because games don't sell well... leaving said cut staff out in the cold to die.
I said, boycott what you will - you're free to do so! I'm just wondering if there's a solution to the whole 'eff kotick!' problem without actually hurting these studios that work so hard to make games.
10/06/09
Now, who knows? It doesn't really seem like they have much job security with Activision to begin with.
10/07/09