RedOctane made their mark on the world selling beefed-up dance pads for Bemani’s popular Dance Dance Revolution series. When they teamed up with Harmonix to release Guitar Hero in 2002, they were entering a then-dominated market of beat matching games produced by Bemani, this time employing a modified guitar controller, bringing a new game dynamic to Bemani’s less-popular Guitar Freaks franchise. It was not long before Guitar Hero became the runaway hit of the year, and the RedOctane/Harmonix alliance (now part of Activision and MTV, respectively) dominated the rhythm games genre. (more…)