Disney takes the stage with its own version of Rock Band

by Larry Bills, March 6th, 2008, 5:18 am

Video gamers have long been a niche audience, for you either are an addict to the console or you barely/never play. There are few dwellers in the world between. But lately non-gamers are increasingly dropping their dough into console coffers thanks to that powerful elixer known as Rock ‘n Roll. I’m talking about the Rock Band and Guitar Hero simulated music games which have become all the rage. There’s so much money to be made in this arena that even Disney Interactive, maker of primarily games based on its entertainment franchises, is drifting out of its comfort zone with a version of its own, Ultimate Band, for the Nintendo Wii system.

I give Disney props for trying, but it is making a crucial mistake with Ultimate Band by purposely not creating a specialized guitar and/or drumkit controller, preferring instead to use the standard Wii controller. They’re selling that point as one of the game’s big advantages when it’s actually a detriment. Players of Guitar Hero and Rock Band don’t mind buying the “single-function peripherals” (in Disney press release-speak) needed to properly play the game, because those controls enhance the simulated experience of playing in a band. That’s the whole point. You’re supposed to pretend to be Eddie Van Halen nailing “Eruption“ or Neil Peart banging away on the cymbals to “Tom Sawyer.”

For those of you who don’t understand the appeal of these games or think they’re silly, well, you either haven’t played yet or don’t like Rock. There’s a reason that the numerous editions of Guitar Hero, and now Rock Band, are raking in the dough hand over fist and putting big smiles on the faces of Activision and MTV Games executives. They are more fun than you can imagine and as addictive as anything ingested by Keith Richards. (The brother-in-law of the guy who sits next to me at work actually gave up Rock Band for Lent and loaned my colleague his set-up for the holy duration. Now my co-worker’s addicted, too.)

But, I understand the skepticism. I resisted it for a while myself. I saw customers playing the demo models of Guitar Hero in Circuit City and thought they looked … well … stupid. But the more the Rock fan in me thought about the game — and since three years of guitar lessons in high school only netted me the ability to play AC/DC’s “Back in Black“ and Metallica’s “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” a limited range that proved not too band-worthy — the more appealing it looked. In the end, though, it took the Drunk Dude in Circuit City to convince me:

Larry stands in the video game aisle reading the back of Guitar Hero and contemplating its purchase. From behind him comes a loud, slurred voice:

“Dude, have you played it yet?”

Larry turns and looks at a disheveled guy with bloodshot eyes who smells of beer.

Larry: “No, still just checking it out.”

Drunk Dude: “Dude, stop reading the box, take it to the register, and buy it right … now. You’ll be playing it all night.”

Larry: “I don’t know, man. It seems kind of silly.”

Drunk Dude: “Dude, I thought so, too but I’ve been playing for a week straight and can’t get enough. Go buy it!”

So, I bought it, and I have to hand it to Drunk Dude. He was right. My wife, kid, and full-time job kept me from playing it as consecutively as he did, but for about a month I was rocking that PlayStation every chance I got. I’ve got the gnarled, carpal tunnel hand to prove it. Not to mention thousands of virtual fans of my band, Mangled Pita. I’m not giving up my console music career anytime soon. There are literally endless amounts of music to incorporate into future versions, and Guitar Hero is even creating editions based on single bands such as its coming Aerosmith version. This phenomenon is here to stay.

For those about to rock, I salute you.