3. Guitar Hero & Rock Band
Activision/EAWho wouldn't want to be a rock star? Activision's Guitar Hero became an overnight smash hit in 2005 by feeding that desire, allowing gamers to play out their grandest musical ambitions by clacking away on a plastic Fisher Price-esque guitar peripheral without the requirement to have any actual musical talent. For around four years, Guitar Hero and to a lesser extent Rock Band were the words on everyone's lips: the games appeared heavily in movies and TV shows, and we just couldn't get enough of them. Then the bubble burst in 2009, with an over-saturated rhythm game market killing both franchises stone dead. As such, playing Guitar Hero just isn't seen as "cool" anymore (and in some circles never was), and if you're caught jamming away on your fake guitar, you're going to be viewed as almost as much of a relic as the dusty hunk of plastic you're holding. The series' favour may have died for the most part, but we can't resist getting the guitar out every so often and having a play, and you know what? We've still got it, and though the satisfaction of showing your skills off at parties is pretty much long gone, it's still tremendously satisfying to host a concert for one.