When we think of the `entertainment industry`, we think of Hollywood, we think of blockbuster movies. We think of larger than life rock bands, idyllic teen pop idols and rap moguls cruising around in their Bentley`s. The stars of film and song fill our tabloids and entertainment news. What the media defines as our pop culture is where our public consciousness is absorbed in it. But looming in the corner, maybe bigger than them all, is the Interactive Industry, better known as video games. From console hardware, console software, and PC software sales alone, video games brought in more that $11 billion in 2007. Compare this to a Hollywood record high of $9.6 billion in 2007, and the record industry selling $9 billion worth of CDs, we see interactive entertainment as the up and coming king of our leisure dollars. Add in all the 3rd party hardware companies, magazines, websites, and other endeavors on the periphery, and you may have enough cash to purchase your own small dictatorship somewhere undeveloped. Interactive entertainment is truly a massive, delicious pie, and it seems as though everyone now wants a slice.
Hollywood jumped on the bandwagon early. As video games became more complex, more narrative, more cinematic, major movie studios found they could co-opt the characters and stories, slap together a mediocre film, and count on the legions of fans to make it profitable anyways. And they've been at it for more than a decade. In the 1993 we had Super Mario Bros completely ruin any fond memories we had of the brave Italian plumbers. Since then, countless movies; from Street Fighter, Doom, Resident Evil, and anything made by Uwe Boll, have shown Hollywood is serious in taking their chunk of the video game pie. However, Hollywood has a long history of embracing that which may have been thought of as less than mainstream. They've been making movies based on comic books, science fiction stories, and fantasy novels for eons. What is even more remarkable, and perhaps a more telling milestone in video games transition to the mainstream, is record companies are devoting more and more energy to crossover projects involving video games.
Perhaps it's the result of a failed, outdated business plan incapable of coping with the modern, digital world; or maybe it's just traditional corporate greed. Either way, the music business is finding itself increasingly involved with the video games empire. We have had music related games in the past, the older arcade gamers out there might remember Michael Jackson's `Moonwalker`, or that ridiculous Aerosmith CD gun shooter, but these were merely products of licensing for the sake of selling games. Over the last few years, however, we have seen crossover projects that have boosted album sales, renewed band careers, featured major label artists, and even may be helping to revitalize an entire industry. An early example, `Grand Theft Auto: Vice City`, featured an impressive 80's music soundtrack that not only went on to become a best-selling soundtrack, but also corresponded with increases in album sales of some of the featured artists. Grammy award winning rap artist, 50cent, has not only starred in his own action video game in 2005, `Bulletproof`, but due to that title's multi-million selling run, now is set to release a second video game, entitled `Blood on the Sand`. Stories like this, however, are just the tip of the iceberg when exploring the depth of Music's interest in interactive entertainment.
With the advent of music-based video games, beginning with popular titles like `Parappa the Rapper` and `Dance Dance Revolution`, a perfect hybrid of interactive music entertainment has emerged and become a dominant force on consoles today. This is perhaps best illustrated by the premier example of a music-driven rhythm game, Activision's `Guitar Hero`. `Guitar Hero` took the gaming world by storm, licensing music from a variety of rock acts and plunging the player directly into the role of lead guitar. It has spawned multiple sequels, including one entirely devoted to 80's music, and another solely featuring Aerosmith songs, and has inspired a new model for the relationship between record and interactive industries. It is even making it's imprint in the competitive world, being featured by a number of tournament around the globe. One game that takes the `Guitar Hero` model one step forward, Harmonix's `Rock Band`, is solely responsible for over 2.5 million song downloads. At $2 each, this is a noticeable chunk of the growing digital downloads segment of overall music sales, a segment that is very important to record labels considering the overall drop in CD sales worldwide. Video games are poised to take a front seat in bolstering the revenue and income of the music business. With more games coming out with distribution features such as this, video games are already playing a direct role in the future of the recording industry, thanks to artist brand development and recognition, and even content sales. Both critical and advertising press and media are bypassed and content is directly delivered to an already paying consumer. With the bleak outlook of the music business the last few years, the record company's involvement with video games has been nothing but optimistic and hopeful. Hell, even the Beatles are looking at getting into the game (of games). Seriously, look it up!
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