Rhythm game facts for kids

Players using a dance mat to play Dance Dance Revolution, one of the most successful rhythm games.

A rhythm game is a type of music video game where you play along to the beat of a song. These games often involve dancing or pretending to play musical instruments. Players need to press buttons or make movements at just the right time with the music. If you do it correctly, your character in the game will dance or play their instrument well, and you'll get a high score!

You can play rhythm games with a regular controller. But many games use special controllers that look like real instruments, such as guitars or drums. For dancing games, you might step on a special mat called a dance mat. Some newer games, like those for Kinect on the Xbox 360, even let you use your whole body to control the game by tracking your movements. Many rhythm games also let you play with friends, either as a band or dance crew, or by competing against each other.

The first important rhythm game was PaRappa the Rapper in 1996. It set the basic idea for many games that came after it. In 1997, Konami's Beatmania became very popular in Japan. Konami's music game division, Bemani, made many more music games. The most famous one was Dance Dance Revolution, a dance mat game that became a huge hit all over the world. Later, Harmonix made Guitar Hero. This game was inspired by similar Japanese games but used rock music that Western players loved. Guitar Hero and Rock Band became super popular, bringing rhythm games back into the spotlight. By 2008, rhythm games were one of the most popular types of video games. However, after too many similar games came out, sales dropped, and companies started making fewer new rhythm games.

What are Rhythm Games?
History of Rhythm Games
Images for kids
See also

What are Rhythm Games?

Many rhythm games, such as Frets on Fire, show notes scrolling down the screen, along with your score and how well you are doing.

Rhythm games are a type of action game that test your sense of rhythm. They include dance games like Dance Dance Revolution and music games like Donkey Konga and Guitar Hero. In these games, you need to press the correct button at the exact right moment. The game shows you which button to press next, and you get points for hitting the beat perfectly.

Some rhythm games also check how well you sing, by measuring both rhythm and how high or low your voice is. You can often play songs you've never seen before, but practicing helps you master harder songs and settings. Other rhythm games are like a game of Simon says. You watch and remember a series of button presses, then try to repeat them.

In some rhythm games, you see a character on screen who dances or plays an instrument when you press buttons. This character is usually in the background and is more for fun than for helping you play. In single-player mode, you might compete against a computer player. In multiplayer mode, two players can compete against each other. Because rhythm games are so popular, many special controllers have been made. These include controllers shaped like guitars, drums, or maracas. Dance mats let you step on pressure-sensitive pads. You can also use regular game controllers for some rhythm games.

History of Rhythm Games

Early Games and Popularity in Japan (1970s - 2000)

The idea for rhythm games can be traced back to the electronic game Simon, made in 1978. In Simon, players repeat longer and longer patterns of lights and sounds. This "call and response" idea is used in many music video games today.

Dance Aerobics, released in 1987, let players make music by stepping on Nintendo's Power Pad. Some people call it the first rhythm-action game. Later, PaRappa the Rapper (1996) is often called the first true rhythm game. In this game, you pressed buttons in the order they appeared on screen. This simple idea became the main way many future rhythm games worked. PaRappa the Rapper's success made music games very popular. It also had its own original songs and a good story.

Konami's Beatmania, released in Japanese arcades in 1997, was a DJ-themed rhythm game. It had buttons like a keyboard and a rubber pad like a record. It was a big hit, and Konami's music game division even changed its name to Bemani because of it. Bemani then started making many other rhythm games. One of these was GuitarFreaks, which used a guitar-shaped controller. While GuitarFreaks is still popular in Japan, it wasn't sold much outside the country. This allowed Harmonix to create Guitar Hero for Western players years later. Similarly, DrumMania (1999) used a drum kit controller. You could even link it with GuitarFreaks to play together like a band, long before Rock Band came out. Pop'n Music (1998), which was like Beatmania but with many colorful buttons, was also a success.

Dance Dance Revolution, released in 1998, was a rhythm game where players danced on pressure-sensitive pads to on-screen commands. This game was very successful not just in Japan, but all around the world.

Other games like Enix's Bust a Groove (1998) also focused on dancing. Vib-Ribbon (1999) was unique because it didn't use instrument controllers. Instead, players guided a character through an obstacle course by pressing buttons at the right time. The courses changed depending on the music, and you could even load your own songs! Samba de Amigo (1999) used motion sensor controllers shaped like maracas. It was great for playing with friends and watching others play. In 2001, Taiko no Tatsujin combined traditional Japanese drums with pop music and became very popular in Japanese arcades. It was later released in other countries as Taiko Drum Master.

Rise of Western Popularity (2001–2008)

Harmonix, a company started by music experts from MIT, released Frequency in 2001. This game let players control different instruments, making them feel more creative. It was liked by critics, but its abstract style made it hard to sell. Harmonix then made Amplitude in 2003, which was similar. They also created popular karaoke-style games like Karaoke Revolution (2003) and SingStar (2004). Donkey Konga, made by Namco for Nintendo in 2003, became very popular because it used Nintendo's famous Donkey Kong characters.

An impromptu group of Rock Band 2 players

Guitar Hero, developed by Harmonix, came out in 2005. It was inspired by GuitarFreaks but used Western rock music instead of Japanese pop. This game brought new life to the rhythm game world, which had become a bit boring with many Dance Dance Revolution copies. Guitar Hero had many sequels and became incredibly successful. The third game was the best-selling game in North America in 2007.

Harmonix then created the Rock Band series, which also earned a lot of money. Rock Band used controllers for multiple instruments and let players play together as a full band. The Guitar Hero series soon followed with Guitar Hero World Tour, which also allowed full band play. There were even Guitar Hero games based on specific bands like Metallica and Aerosmith. You could buy extra songs online for both Guitar Hero and Rock Band games. The success of these games helped more people buy game consoles and made video games popular with a wider range of players. In 2008, rhythm games were the second most popular type of video game in the U.S., after action games.

Changes in Rhythm Games (2009–2010)

By 2009, many new Guitar Hero and Rock Band games were coming out. They were made for different game systems, including phones, and for different types of music or players, like Band Hero for pop music and Lego Rock Band for younger kids. However, sales of music games started to drop. This was partly because many players already owned the instrument controllers and didn't need to buy new ones.

Even though new games like Guitar Hero 5 and The Beatles: Rock Band were expected to sell a lot, their sales were much lower than predicted. This showed that people were getting tired of these games, and the market was becoming "saturated" (meaning there were too many similar games). Because of this, companies started making fewer new music games. For example, sales of DJ Hero, a spin-off of Guitar Hero, were much lower than expected. One reason for the decline was that the games hadn't changed much in how they played, so players weren't as excited to buy new ones. Total sales for rhythm games dropped a lot from 2008 to 2009.

Game companies realized that most players already had instrument controllers at home. So, future sales would mostly come from selling new games and extra songs. In 2010, Activision made fewer Guitar Hero games. They also closed some of the studios that made Guitar Hero games. Other companies also faced challenges. Developers tried to add new features to their games. Rock Band 3 and Power Gig: Rise of the SixString added new guitar controllers that were more like real guitars. They even added ways to help players learn how to hold their fingers as if playing a real guitar. But even with these new modes, sales of music games were still low in 2010.

By the end of 2010, the rhythm game market, which had been boosted by games sold with instrument controllers, was not as strong as before. Companies started focusing more on downloadable songs and using motion controls. In 2011, Activision stopped making Guitar Hero games. Harmonix, the creators of Rock Band, was sold to a new group so they could keep making Rock Band and Dance Central on their own. Experts think that these types of rhythm games might not be as popular for a few years, but they could become popular again with new game consoles or different ways of selling games, like focusing more on downloadable content.

Motion Control and Dance Games (2011-Present)

With new motion control systems like Kinect for Xbox 360 and PlayStation Move for PlayStation 3 (along with the Wii's motion control), some people believed rhythm games would become popular again. This time, the focus would be on dance games and band games that use your body movements instead of special controllers. Games like Dance Central, Michael Jackson: The Game, and Child of Eden use this new motion-sensing technology to make dancing more fun and active.

Experts think that as sales of games needing instrument controllers go down, dance-based games, along with the growing popularity of pop music, will continue to do well. Dancing games like Just Dance and Dance Central helped boost game sales at the end of 2010. Dance Central was the best-selling game for the Kinect in North America in November 2010.

Images for kids

Screenshot of StepMania, an open-source game similar to Dance Dance Revolution.
Screenshot of osu!lazer, a rhythm game derived from Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan, in which players click circles and drag sliders to music.