These two games have been grouped together because, in terms of local multiplayer, they're pretty much the same experience. In other words, take your pick. The rhythm game has become a huge sensation, as nearly every publisher is attempting to rake in the cash with music-based gameplay. Taking cues from Konami's Dance Dance Revolution series as well as their arcade instrument games such as DrumMania and GuitarFreaks, Activision struck gold with 2005's Guitar Hero. Since then, similar brands have sprouted, more peripherals have been added, and wallets have been emptied. Although the market is becoming saturated with these sorts of games, there's still no denying the fun of stringing together a pseudo-band and pseudo-rocking-out.
With the limits in advancing the basic formula, I have an interesting prediction as to where this type of game will be headed. It would be a somewhat radical new format for gaming. At the beginning of a console's life, you simply buy Rock Band or Guitar Hero, etc. Then, throughout the console's lifetime, you buy tracks or packages as they are released. Thus, it would be an installment-based game. However, this may never come to fruition: publishers can make a lot more money by requiring purchases of their newest game in order to get new songs. Yet it's an interesting idea nonetheless!
