As the years have gone by people may have noticed that some of the more well-known musicians and bands have been slowly introducing their music into video gaming. Established artists from the music industry as huge as Paul McCartney, Drake, and Nine Inch Nails have written songs specifically for games. Now musicians are beginning to recognize the impact and reach that their music can have into an industry that was said to be worth over $90billion in 2020. However, whilst the music continues to be a vital part of a video game’s design, the crossover hasn’t really occurred too much in the opposite direction. So, some could say it’s quite rare to see the musicians as the protagonists in the games themselves. But by scratching the surface a little, you will see there have been some notable titles from artists who have found varying degrees of success.
Kiss
https://youtu.be/ELFbiDchIKY Kiss has a lengthy history in the gaming arena, as they featured on a classic pinball machine back in the late 1970s. So, to see them move from the pinball table into video gaming was no surprise. The massive rock band who are currently working through their extensive farewell world tour put their brand onto a more modern interpretation of pinball. Kiss Pinball appeared on the PC and PlayStation in 2000 and gave players two Kiss-themed tables to play. Whilst it wasn’t recognized as one of the better pinball titles around at the time, the striking sight of Gene Simmons on the cover certainly thrust the group into the minds of a new audience.
Michael Jackson
https://youtu.be/QP7tp9eB8rs As one of the most famous artists in the history of music, to see Michael Jackson adorning the cover of a video game was almost a given. It says so much about him that his legacy still lives on in the current gaming era, too. The Michael Jackson: King Of Pop game features on Gala Bingo and is the latest in a line of games that have featured the much-loved singer who’s story in gaming started over 30 years ago. The first title to feature Jackson was Moonwalker, which was based on a film of the same name. It was a highly acclaimed title with some gaming journalists naming it amongst the best titles available for the Sega Genesis back in the early 90s making it a bona fide video game classic. The good news is for those who missed out on it the first time, it has been brought into the current day as it’s now available on the Nintendo Switch too.
The Beatles
https://youtu.be/NFgEmu9ARVA For anyone who was around at the height of The Beatles popularity and has seen the growth of the video game industry could argue that a combination of the two would be ideal. But it was arguably about finding the right platform to align the two. Following the introduction of rhythm-based games courtesy of the Rock Band and Guitar Hero series to the arcades, it was only to be a matter of time before the British supergroup was to be integrated into it. It was a match made in heaven as The Beatles: Rock Band was a massive success. The game which was available on PS3, Wii, and Xbox 360 was said to have made over $59 million in revenue in the US alone and was the second-highest revenue-generating game of its time.
Iron Maiden
https://youtu.be/nO8ZqH5_Fhg With the sheer number of Iron Maiden fans around the world, it was no surprise to find a host of video games linked to their name. Their first title, Ed Hunter, was released to fans in a deluxe 3CD greatest hits package of the same name which was the first time the two worlds had been brought together in this manner. It not only had some of Maiden’s most famous tracks in there but had the soundtrack to the game on CD as well as the video game, too. The shoot ‘em up title took players around the world, through space and time where players had to catch Maiden’s mascot Eddie. More recently there’s been a further gaming collaboration brought to modern technology with Legacy of the Beast. The game, which is available on mobile platforms, sees players battle as Eddie through a universe inspired by the music of the legendary band. –
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