Rhythm game
The genre has been traced back to the electronic game Simon, invented by Howard Morrison and Ralph Baer (the latter also invented the Magnavox Odyssey) in 1978. Players take turns repeating increasingly complicated sequences of button presses and the game implemented the "call and response" mechanic used by later music video games. Dance Aerobics was released in 1987, and allowed players to create music by stepping on Nintendo's Power Pad peripheral. It has been called the first rhythm-action game in retrospect. The later PaRappa the Rapper has also been credited as the first rhythm game, as well as one of the first music games in general. The game required players to press buttons corresponding to the order they appeared on-screen; this basic mechanic would form the core of future rhythm games. The success of PaRappa the Rapper sparked popularity of the music game genre. Unlike most other games in the genre, the game also featured a completely original soundtrack and a good plot. Konami's Beatmania, released in Japanese arcades in 1997, was a dj-themed rhythm game which featured buttons laid out like a keyboard along with a rubber pad that looked like a record. The game was a surprise hit, inspiring Konami's Games and Music Division to change its name to Bemani in honor of the game, and to then begin experimenting with other rhythm games over the next few years. One of those successes, GuitarFreaks, featured a guitar-shaped controller. While the franchise continues to receive new arcade versions in Japan, it was never strongly marketed outside of the country, allowing Harmonix to capitalize on the formula several years later with the Western-targeted Guitar Hero. Similarly, DrumMania from 1999 used a drum kit controller and could be linked with GuitarFreaks for simulated jam sessions, several years before the concept appeared in Rock Band. 1998's Pop'n Music, a game similar to Beatmania, featuring multiple colorful buttons was also successful.