Get Down and Get With It Trivia Quiz

Answer: Harmonix Music Systems & RedOctane

Kai and Charles Huang formed RedOctane in 1999 to create accessories for music games that were already on the shelf. Their main issue was that the release of their equipment was tied to someone else's release dates, which prompted them to start making their own games. Inspired by a product produced by Konami in Japan, for which they were the US distributor, they teamed up with Harmonix Music Systems to formulate "Guitar Hero".

Harmonix had been set up by Alex Rigopulos and Eran Egozy in 1995, building music generation systems. Between 2003 and 2004 they were contracted to build three volumes of "Karaoke Revolution" for the Japanese developer which, by chance or good fortune, was also Konami. Not long after they were asked by the Huang brothers to develop "Guitar Hero".

"Guitar Hero" was launched in 2005 and proved to be an immediate hit, which prompted a follow up edition the next year. The latter received an even greater response, opening the door to new opportunities. Those came in the form of new partnerships. RedOctane and Harmonix would go their separate ways with the former being acquired by Activision and the latter by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of the giant Viacom conglomeration. The key factors for both organizations were that RedOctane retained the naming rights to "Guitar Hero" and Harmonix still held the patents to key areas of equipment in the game. These would prove to be fortuitous to both organizations.

Answer: Guitar Freaks

Whilst "Guitar Hero" may have had its origin in "Guitar Freaks" the seed for both goes back a little further to another Konami game. "Dance, Dance Revolution" ("DDR"), which was released in 1998, asked of a player to follow a dance routine by hitting the right coloured spots on a specially made dance platform to score points. As this is a similar procedure in "Guitar Hero", bearing in mind that it is fingers on a fret board rather than feet on a dance floor, it would not be too far fetched to say that "Dance, Dance Revolution" was the true pioneer of the rhythm based video game.

Konami's "Guitar Freaks" was an arcade game that followed ("DDR") the year after, came with a fake plastic guitar, that acted as a console, bearing three different coloured buttons on the fret. It was a popular game in Japan but not so outside of that country, but (pardon the pun) it did not fall on deaf ears outside of it. RedOctane, immediately, saw its potential, however, not being blessed with the development skills in this area they approached Harmonix to take on this part of the process on their behalf. They saw, in Harmonix, a creator who'd established a solid reputation building karaoke consoles which they felt was the best grounding for this development.

"Guitar Hero" was launched in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 platform, providing a console shaped like a guitar, that bore five coloured buttons (compared to "Guitar Freaks" three) on the fret. Those buttons corresponded to coloured spots on a screen, which represented the notes of a song. Your task, as the player, was to press the note (coloured button) on your fret, with one hand, while strumming the control bar with the other, effectively getting you to simulate playing.

Answer: Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock

Considered "fortunate" alluded to the idiom "third time lucky".

When the first version of "Guitar Hero" was launched in 2005, it took the world by storm, selling in excess of 1.5 million copies and it provided a massive boost to the rhythm music fad. A year later the sequel, "Guitar Hero II" made mince meat of its predecessor's performance, achieving sales of over $200 million in that year alone. If these two versions had been an affliction, then "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" would become the fever. Released in 2007, it transcended its siblings to such an extent that it became a part of mainstream culture and became the first single video game to achieve sales in excess of one billion dollars.

"Guitar Hero" would not attain these giddy heights again. The games continued to sell well for a time. Competition bred innovation for a brief period, but this too became sporadic and then stale. This was followed by a spell where the market was oversaturated, not just by competitors but by Activision themselves. For example, there were four releases/versions of the game, by the company in 2008 and a further six in 2009, which were seen by the public for what they really were... a grab for cash.

Answer: True

By no means does that statement imply that instant gratification was the sole reason for the success of the game, but it certainly helped.

One of the big advantages of "Guitar Hero" was that it was a dream to play, either on your own or in a group. It fulfilled, for many, a fantasy of being a pseudo rock star. The controller, whilst it wasn't unique, was a faux, cherry red, Gibson shaped guitar. It was cool, it was easy to handle and you were presented with a feast of great rock and roll songs to play, from such beloved acts as Queen, Black Sabbath and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, to name a few.

Then there's instant gratification, and you may be wondering what the heck that is. For those that are "rock stars in their own minds", "Guitar Hero" presented as a beautiful marriage between karaoke (in the performance sense) and air guitar. And here lies the beauty... yes, you needed some sense of rhythm, but you didn't need to understand or know how to read music. You didn't need to know how to play a musical instrument or spend countless hours of practice to barely get to the rudiments of something as simple as Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water" (1972). Essentially, you didn't need to be a musician. All you had to do was have your fingers punch a series of coloured buttons on a fret bar, that corresponded to coloured dots on a screen, while the other hand was flicking between the strum bar and the whammy bar. As simple as singing in the shower and with no need for coaching.

Answer: Rock Band

"Hang on" you're thinking "weren't Harmonix behind the creation of "Guitar Hero"? Your thinking would be correct. They were in league with RedOctane in the creation and initial publication of "Guitar Hero" in 2005, however, they went their separate ways after the release of "Guitar Hero II" in 2006. RedOctane (which became Activision) still retained the rights to the name of the game and continued to develop and publish under that guise. Harmonix, which had been acquired by MTV, however, still possessed the rights to most of the technology behind the game and used that to create their own version i.e. "Rock Band". There was, however, still a sting in the tail for Harmonix and we will get to that a little further down.

Under the dictum that "competition breeds innovation", Harmonix/MTV sought to differentiate themselves from "Guitar Hero" and launched "Rock Band" (for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) in 2007. They turned the game into one that could be played with four people (an instant band) and, along with the fake lead guitar in the package, they also incorporated a fake bass guitar, fake drums and a USB microphone that allowed for vocals.

Activision responded by releasing "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" the following year, which also included drums and a microphone. The bass guitar would be added to the set in "Guitar Hero V" the year after. This concept was marketed (by Activision) as "Band in a Box". This should not be confused with the Windows macOS software, released in 1999 with the same name.

Mentioned above was a sting in the tail for Harmonix. They'd split with RedOctane/Activision after delivering two versions of "Guitar Hero", however, they'd been contracted to create three games... and Activision held them to that obligation. The result was "Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s", which was released in July 2007. Whether or not this was a wise move on the part of Activision is moot because the release was criticized for its lack of imagination, innovation and its list of tired songs. It had all the hallmarks of a "forced" entry and had the potential to harm the brand. History showed this not to be the case as "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock", which followed it, would become the first single video game to breach the billion dollar mark in sales.

Answer: Metallica

"Guitar Hero: Metallica" was launched in 2009. Its package included a lead and bass guitar, drums and microphone, and was available for use on Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation3.

Metallica saw this as an opportunity and, in a Reuters article, "Metallica Welcomes "Guitar Hero" Fans" (April, 2009), they described the decision as a "no brainer". Both Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield had witnessed what effect the game ("Guitar Hero") had on their children and how it had opened them up to a range of music they'd not experienced before. Accordingly, they saw this as a means of attracting a new market of fans to their own catalogue. That said, they continued to maintain control of their catalogue, only allowing 28 of their songs to appear in the 2009 "Guitar Hero" game.

Some may feel that there is a touch of irony in this decision by Metallica, sharing their music with Activision and "Guitar Hero", after their vehement stand against the file sharing company, Napster, in 2000. However, the significant difference here is that the activities of Napster infringed upon Metallica's intellectual property in a method that was tantamount to theft. In providing access to their library to Activision, Metallica had some piece of mind in that the ability to share downloads of their music under this banner was far more difficult than that of MP3 files.

Answer: False

Take the case of the band known as Dragonforce, a (then) little know power metal band that formed in the United Kingdom in 1999. They were popular to a degree within their region but their albums did not sell well. The only market that their first two LPs broke into (barely) was that of Japan. In 2005 they released "Inhuman Rampage", their third album, and this also struggled to find a wide market. That is, until the song "Through the Fire and Flames" was included on the playlist of "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" (2007). At 7 minutes and 21 seconds, it was the longest and the most difficult track in the game... suddenly people took notice of the song and then the band. The following year the song entered both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the Canadian 100 charts. In addition, the sales of the band's entire catalogue had jumped by 126%.

Music labels were attuned to the opportunities this presented and they were beating a path to Activision's door. In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph (April, 2009), Tim Riley, Vice President for Music Affairs at Activision, stated "we'll get calls from a manager, a label or an artist and they'll say 'look we've got this song that's going to be great for "Guitar Hero" because its got this ripping guitar solo or great melody."

To add weight to this, Rafael McDonnell, from EMI, advised that music had been a small part of video games for years, but they became integral to the whole experience when "FIFA Football 2000" (2000) made extensive use of the Robbie Williams catalogue. "Record labels used to have film and TV departments" he added "but since "Guitar Hero" they've ensured they had dedicated video game liaisons."

Answer: South Park

You know that you have made a significant impact in the world of pop culture when someone decides they are going to parody you or your work. The episode in question, which aired in November 2009, launched a mere three weeks after the arrival of "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" and drew some four million viewers. It proved to be Comedy Central's most watched telecast for the year. The plot revolved around Stan and Kyle getting addicted to "Guitar Hero II" (2008), setting a record score, becoming overnight sensations, getting caught up in a drugs and sex culture, falling out amongst each other, before realizing what it was that they meant to each other and reuniting.

However, "South Park" was not the only operation to make use of the "Guitar Hero" name and that famous fret bar of theirs. The guitar provided the background to a video clip for Eminem's song "We Made You" (2009), which saw the singer dancing across the coloured buttons while he hurled barbs at the headlining celebrities of the day. The video game "The Simpsons Game" (2007) included a mock up poster of Apu on the cover of a game called "Sitar Hero". Gamespot released an April Fool's Day article in 2006 announcing the release of a new game called "Cowbell Hero". When US President Barack Obama visited Queen Elizabeth II in April of 2009 he presented her with an iPod... it didn't take long for political cartoonist Steve Breen to present a strip featuring the President gifting the Queen with a copy of "Guitar Hero". Ellen DeGeneres would play the game as part of her monologue in her shows on several occasions in 2008. These are but the tip of the iceberg of the times "Guitar Hero" has surfaced as a pop culture reference and that does not include the numerous YouTube clips that have appeared, showcasing someone playing songs or setting new high score levels in the game.

Answer: Harmonix Music releasing a version of "Guitar Hero: Eurovision"

Harmonix was contracted to produce three games of "Guitar Hero" and none of those were a "Eurovision" version. After their split with RedOctane/Activision they no longer had access to the naming rights to "Guitar Hero", hence this will not happen.

"Guitar Hero" has been used as a therapy tool to aid stroke victims in regaining their co-ordination and, in a similar manner, so too have amputees used the game to adapt to the use of their new prosthetics. It has also been used in helping the development of young children who have been seriously injured or born with defects that affect their movement and co-ordination.

Whilst it is acknowledged that playing "Guitar Hero" is not the same as the physical aspects of playing an actual guitar, the game has had the motivational effect of pushing people toward learning how to play. An article in London's The Independent magazine, "Can Gaming Save the Record Industry" (December, 2008) pointed to a Youth Music survey that revealed over 2.5 million people were inspired to play a real instrument after playing "Guitar Hero". That impetus was taken to another level by Nintendo's "Wii Music" (2008) which placed a stronger emphasis on players learning the rudiments of playing instruments.

In the article "How "Guitar Hero" Revolutionized the Music Industry" (2009), EMI's head of brand partnerships in Europe Rafael McDonnell opined that it felt strange watching his ten year old son playing Steve Miller's "The Joker" (1973) on "Guitar Hero", a song he may never have experienced otherwise. Adrian Pope, digital music director at Vital PIAS, confirmed how doors to older songs were being opened up to new generations and pointed to his pre-teen children trying to play along to the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Creedence Clearwater Revival, artists they are unlikely to have ever contemplated playing.

This, in turn, is partly echoed by the surge in popularity that older artists, who have featured on both "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" games, have experienced. As an example, the band Aerosmith is reputed to have made more money out of the game "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith" (2008) than out of any single album they'd released to that point. Basically, "Guitar Hero" became in the early 2000s what the music video had been to the 1980s.

Answer: Gibson

In the lead-up to the case, the likeness of the Gibson guitar had appeared in every "Guitar Hero" from the original in 2005 all the way to "Guitar Hero: Aerosmith" in 2008. Gibson felt that Activision was cashing in on their property and so they sued. They would lose the petition after the judge ruled that the object in question was a mere "toy".

The significance of that decision does not matter in this quiz as the question only serves to introduce the idea that, despite its popularity, not everyone was in love with "Guitar Hero". Apart from a number of other legal challenges, there were calls that the game was creating a sense of "false virtuosity" - people believing they were musicians when, in reality, they couldn't play a single note. The artist that we knew as Prince echoed this sentiment by refusing to open his catalogue to the developers, stating that it was more important that people learned how to play music. Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin followed suit.

The Warner Music Group complained about remuneration from "Guitar Hero" stating that they received too little for a game that was entirely dependent on their (the music industry's) product for their success. As an example, it was reported in 2008 that the game's publishers were paying $10,000 to be able to re-record a song and $25,000 to have access to an artist's master tapes. By contrast, the National Football League (NFL) in the United States was receiving up 30% of the profits from one of the biggest games in the country - "Madden NFL". Activision's response was blunt, indicating that the labels should be grateful, that because of "Guitar Hero's" impact on sales for the music industry, that it should be the labels paying them to use their music.