10 Completely Shameless Video Game Rip-Offs
9. Guitar Hero - Guitar Freaks
When Guitar Hero first hit the market, I was appalled at how simple the designers had made playing classic rock songs. I'd spent the better part of my teenage years learning to twiddle on my Stratocaster (copy), and now everyone thought they were Eric Clapton thanks to plastic guitar controllers.
Strangely, this wasn't a new concept as the Japanese had been rocking out in arcades since 1998, thanks to Guitar Freaks. The controller was shaped similarly to a Fender, and allowed players to tap their way through tons of fantastic J-pop until their fingers fell off.
The game was set to be ported to the PS2 in America but - thanks to a case of insanely bad timing - a patent couldn't be secured on the controller as the USA already had Guitar Hero reaping the rewards of their own 'innovation'.