Rhythm game
Guitar Hero, developed by Harmonix, was released in 2005 by then relatively unknown publisher RedOctane. The game was inspired by GuitarFreaks, but while that game had used Japanese pop music, Guitar Hero featured Western rock music. The game revived the rhythm genre which by this time had begun to get boring, flooded with Dance Dance Revolution sequels and imitators.2008. "Best Rhythm Game: Rock Band 2" . UGO. Retrieved 2009-04-29. The game had several sequels, with the franchise earning more than $1 billion in sales; the third game was the best-selling game in North America in 2007. Harmonix's later Rock Band franchise, which also earned in excess of $1 billion, used multiple instrument controllers and cooperative multiplayer, allowing players to play as a full band. The Guitar Hero franchise followed suit with Guitar Hero World Tour, developed by Neversoft rather than Harmonix. Guitar Hero installments based on specific bands, such as Metallica and Aerosmith, were later published. Additional songs could be purchased on the internet and added to Guitar Hero and Rock Band games. Artists whose works have been featured in the games have also benefited from royalties and increased publicity, in turn generating further sales of their work. The success of the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises widened the console video game market and its demographics, with the popularity of the music game driving increased sales of consoles. In 2008, it was reported that the music game had become the second most popular video game genre in the U.S. (behind action, having overtaken sports), with 53% of players being female.