A Guitar Hero

2026-02-15

TCW Podcast Episode 252 - A Guitar Hero The rise and fall of the Guitar Hero franchise and the rhythm game craze of the mid to late 2000s. Red Octane got its start making Dance Dance Revolution pads, but a partnership with Harmonix Music Systems, a studio building technology that let people interact with music without learning an instrument, led to the creation of Guitar Hero. Major retailers refused to carry it until Best Buy set up in-store demo units that sent sales skyrocketing, and Red Octane ...

TCW Podcast Episode 252 - A Guitar Hero

The rise and fall of the Guitar Hero franchise and the rhythm game craze of the mid to late 2000s. Red Octane got its start making Dance Dance Revolution pads, but a partnership with Harmonix Music Systems, a studio building technology that let people interact with music without learning an instrument, led to the creation of Guitar Hero. Major retailers refused to carry it until Best Buy set up in-store demo units that sent sales skyrocketing, and Red Octane could barely keep up with demand. The franchise's success drew corporate attention: Activision acquired Red Octane, MTV Networks acquired Harmonix, and a lingering dispute between Activision and Viacom over the Star Trek license split the partnership in two, giving Activision Guitar Hero and Harmonix Rock Band. Both landed blockbuster bands from Aerosmith to the Beatles, but an endless flood of sequels and add-ons saturated the market, and what once felt like a cultural phenomenon burned out almost as fast as it arrived.

TCW 167 - Activision and Kotick Part 1: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-1/

TCW 168 - Activision and Kotick Part 2: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-2/

TCW 169 - Activision and Kotick Part 3: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/activision-and-kotick-part-3/

Dance Dance Revolution (PSX): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2IammLWeNE

TCW 052 - The Many Faces of Konami: https://podcast.theycreateworlds.com/e/the-many-faces-of-konami/
Guitar Freaks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-gDC1VXqqM

PaRappa The Rapper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3SI4Grases

Tribe on Conan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLrA00pKRHo

Bimini Run (Genesis): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1QdtG3YOE

System Shock: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e1QdtG3YOE
Thief - The Dark Project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH_6ER0-voQ

Simpsons - I can See the Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyNtUpMeBTE

Frequency (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z7n36dozeY

Amplitude (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goH4ygJ48_c

Karaoke Revolution - Drive - Incubus (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJ-yIxE9-hg

The NES Hotseat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvws5tOHsEE

AntiGrav for EyeToy (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9FheIXFrWc

Guitar Hero 1 IGN: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQW2MGFY-us

Guitar Hero 1 (PS2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slJA7xwDRWk