Archive notice: This article was originally published on July 7, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Video game manufacturer and publisher Activision has expanded its successful Guitar Hero series with a new title, according to pressetext. “Guitar Hero: Aerosmith” has been available in stores since last week, giving amateur guitarists the chance to follow in the footsteps of the cult US rock band. Activision is not alone in hoping that the latest instalment will continue Guitar Hero’s success story; the musicians involved also expect a great deal from having their own video game.
The cooperation between the music and video game industries established to produce the title can be seen as representative of a broader trend. One reason is undoubtedly the sharp decline in traditional recorded-music sales that has increasingly troubled the music industry in recent years. To offset these losses, artists have long been looking more intensively for alternative ways to open up new revenue streams.
“Cooperation with the video game industry can be considerably more lucrative for artists than anything achievable in this respect within the music industry,” the Wall Street Journal quotes Irving Azoff of Front Line Management, which represents Aerosmith. Such arrangements could allow musicians to increase their income substantially. “In this way, millions of dollars can be collected in advance. In addition, the band also receives a generous share of the video game’s sales revenue,” Azoff explains. According to the report, Aerosmith even expects the game’s release to generate more income than one of its many studio albums.
“Music games can also have a very positive effect on my clients’ traditional sales figures,” Azoff says. Sales of Aerosmith’s song “Same Old Song and Dance” reportedly rose by 130 percent in the first week after the release of “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.” Patric Roos, PR Executive at Activision Germany, also confirmed this sales-promoting effect, according to pressetext. “Album sales and downloads of individual songs by artists featured in Guitar Hero III demonstrably increased significantly,” Roos stresses. “Cooperation between the video game and music industries is a potentially very promising path for the future,” he adds. Partnerships of this kind would create positive synergies for both sides.
“Guitar Hero is the fastest-growing video game franchise ever,” Roos says. According to market research company NPD Group, 10.8 million copies of games in the series were sold in the United States alone last year. Roos says there are many reasons for this success. “Social games such as music and party games are extremely popular,” he notes.
Guitar Hero is also a particularly distinctive example of this genre. “The title is completely family-friendly, appeals to all age groups, and is easily accessible to every player,” Roos summarizes. Another success factor is the guitar controller, which gives users “a very special, unique playing experience,” he concludes.
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