The top 10 music games of all time

By the late 2000s, music-themed games had become gaming’s fastest-growing genre. Smash hits such as “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” transformed parties, and the face of pop culture, to the tune of $1.7 billion in 2008 alone.

Then came the crash. Despite allowing millions of otherwise tone-deaf players to follow in the footsteps of the Beatles and Metallica, music games slumped 46% a year later. Some critics labeled the genre a one-hit wonder.

But rewind the evolutionary eight-track, and you can see that music and video games aren’t just intrinsically linked since the beginning. They’re also tailor-made for one another, with popular franchises like “Tap Tap Revenge” and “Dance Central” still dominating the charts. New mobile and social apps, plus game-like listening services such as Turntable.fm, are keeping the beat going strong.

So, no, the party’s not over. May the following titles — just a few of the genre’s greatest hits over the years — remind you that this category has more lives left in it than the legendary Keith Richards.

Here’s my list of the top 10 digital music games of all time:

1978: “Simon”

Behind the music: Launched on May 15 at Studio 54, this Jurassic forerunner to today’s touch-sensitive Nintendo DS featured four colored buttons (red, green, yellow and blue) and three simple variations on its gameplay. A great memory is crucial — players have to repeat back a randomized or user-created sequence of lights and tones with a simple poke. Named after the child’s game “Simon Says” and created by Ralph Baer — who also invented home console gaming with the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972 — it quickly became an American institution.

Why it rocks: Besides single-handedly popularizing handheld electronic entertainment and directly influencing every subsequent system from the Game Boy to the PlayStation Portable (PSP), its pattern-based action formed the basis for nearly all music-themed titles to come.

Did you know: Not only is “Simon” still available to buy today, but it makes regular appearances in modern pop culture too. Cartoon shows such as “Dexter’s Laboratory,” “Family Guy” and “Robot Chicken” have made reference to it, and Blizzard’s “World Of Warcraft” even has two quests (in the Blade’s Edge Mountains) where you have to play a life-size version of the game.

1997: “PaRappa the Rapper”

Scott Steinberg’s book “Music Games Rock” is free to download online at www.MusicGamesRock.com.

Behind the music: A far cry from what was going on with PCs at the time (see: bizarre adventures like Peter Gabriel’s “EVE”), this quirky PSOne Japanese import challenged players, as the titular paper doll pooch, to bust a move by pressing buttons in time to featured beats. Do it correctly and you drop mad science on onion-headed martial arts masters, moose driving instructors, Rastafarian frogs and chickens that pass for chefs.

Captivating domestic audiences with its sing-song vibe, hypnotic play and psychedelic cardboard-cutout aesthetic, it’s still one of the freshest interactive approximations of emceeing hip-hop heads will find.

Why it rocks: PaRappa brought the ‘rhythm game’ category home to North American shores, which eventually gave birth to countless hip-wiggling rivals from Unison to Bust-A-Groove.

Did you know: PaRappa The Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura was previously the head of a Japanese progressive rock band (or “pop unit” as he labels it) called Psy S. Formed in 1983, it had a number of hit records before disbanding in 1996 (three years after Matsuura had formed his own game development studio, NanaOn-Sha).

1999: “Dance Dance Revolution”

Behind the music: This arcade game inspired a cultural revolution and pioneered active gaming over a decade before motion controls made “Dance Central” or “Just Dance” household names. Standing on a virtual dance stage, the player works up a rhythm and then steps, jumps and twists in time to floating arrow icons and J-Pop hits, hopefully performing something resembling an actual rump-shaking routine. Still a hot property after more than a decade, the game is inspiring new console and arcade versions.

Why it rocks: “DDR” has inspired local and national dance competitions; muscled its way into gyms nationwide; spawned a generation of footloose tweens who could contort like pretzels at the local Dave & Buster’s but barely shoulder lean otherwise; spawned over 100 hernia-inducing sequels/spin-offs; inspired numerous rivals like “Pump It Up” and “In the Groove;” and gave us all something to gawk at.

By the late 2000s, music-themed games had become gaming’s fastest-growing genre. Smash hits such as “Guitar Hero” and “Rock Band” transformed parties, and the face of pop culture, to the tune of $1.7 billion in 2008 alone.

Then came the crash. Despite allowing millions of otherwise tone-deaf players to follow in the footsteps of the Beatles and Metallica, music games slumped 46% a year later. Some critics labeled the genre a one-hit wonder.

But rewind the evolutionary eight-track, and you can see that music and video games aren’t just intrinsically linked since the beginning. They’re also tailor-made for one another, with popular franchises like “Tap Tap Revenge” and “Dance Central” still dominating the charts. New mobile and social apps, plus game-like listening services such as Turntable.fm, are keeping the beat going strong.

So, no, the party’s not over. May the following titles — just a few of the genre’s greatest hits over the years — remind you that this category has more lives left in it than the legendary Keith Richards.

Here’s my list of the top 10 digital music games of all time:

1978: “Simon”

Behind the music: Launched on May 15 at Studio 54, this Jurassic forerunner to today’s touch-sensitive Nintendo DS featured four colored buttons (red, green, yellow and blue) and three simple variations on its gameplay. A great memory is crucial — players have to repeat back a randomized or user-created sequence of lights and tones with a simple poke. Named after the child’s game “Simon Says” and created by Ralph Baer — who also invented home console gaming with the Magnavox Odyssey in 1972 — it quickly became an American institution.

Why it rocks: Besides single-handedly popularizing handheld electronic entertainment and directly influencing every subsequent system from the Game Boy to the PlayStation Portable (PSP), its pattern-based action formed the basis for nearly all music-themed titles to come.

Did you know: Not only is “Simon” still available to buy today, but it makes regular appearances in modern pop culture too. Cartoon shows such as “Dexter’s Laboratory,” “Family Guy” and “Robot Chicken” have made reference to it, and Blizzard’s “World Of Warcraft” even has two quests (in the Blade’s Edge Mountains) where you have to play a life-size version of the game.

1997: “PaRappa the Rapper”

Scott Steinberg’s book “Music Games Rock” is free to download online at www.MusicGamesRock.com.

Behind the music: A far cry from what was going on with PCs at the time (see: bizarre adventures like Peter Gabriel’s “EVE”), this quirky PSOne Japanese import challenged players, as the titular paper doll pooch, to bust a move by pressing buttons in time to featured beats. Do it correctly and you drop mad science on onion-headed martial arts masters, moose driving instructors, Rastafarian frogs and chickens that pass for chefs.

Captivating domestic audiences with its sing-song vibe, hypnotic play and psychedelic cardboard-cutout aesthetic, it’s still one of the freshest interactive approximations of emceeing hip-hop heads will find.

Why it rocks: PaRappa brought the ‘rhythm game’ category home to North American shores, which eventually gave birth to countless hip-wiggling rivals from Unison to Bust-A-Groove.

Did you know: PaRappa The Rapper creator Masaya Matsuura was previously the head of a Japanese progressive rock band (or “pop unit” as he labels it) called Psy S. Formed in 1983, it had a number of hit records before disbanding in 1996 (three years after Matsuura had formed his own game development studio, NanaOn-Sha).

1999: “Dance Dance Revolution”

Behind the music: This arcade game inspired a cultural revolution and pioneered active gaming over a decade before motion controls made “Dance Central” or “Just Dance” household names. Standing on a virtual dance stage, the player works up a rhythm and then steps, jumps and twists in time to floating arrow icons and J-Pop hits, hopefully performing something resembling an actual rump-shaking routine. Still a hot property after more than a decade, the game is inspiring new console and arcade versions.

Why it rocks: “DDR” has inspired local and national dance competitions; muscled its way into gyms nationwide; spawned a generation of footloose tweens who could contort like pretzels at the local Dave & Buster’s but barely shoulder lean otherwise; spawned over 100 hernia-inducing sequels/spin-offs; inspired numerous rivals like “Pump It Up” and “In the Groove;” and gave us all something to gawk at.