By Glenn Chapman
Agence France-Presse
SAN FRANCISCO — A “Tap Tap Dance” videogame built exclusively for Apple’s hip iPhones was launched Thursday, challenging users to stay in rhythm with songs by tapping the device’s screen in time to the music.
Offering an Internet-age stage for a new generation of musicians, the game is the brainchild of Tapulous, a start-up based in Palo Alto, California.
“We went from a game familiar to people that play ‘Guitar Hero’ or ‘Rock Band’ to something more similar to an interactive music video,” said Tapulous chief executive Bart Decrem. “We are really pushing forward and defining our own experience. We are really proud of that.”
Thursday’s launch came on the heels of Apple revealing that the free “Tap Tap Revenge” earned top spot as the most popular iPhone game in 2008.
“Geek rock” band Weezer recorded six traditional Christmas songs for a special holiday-season version of the iPhone videogame expected to hit Apple’s online App Store at iTunes this week.
“Dance” is an iteration of the game featuring hot dance-music genre artists such as Daft Punk, Moby, Justice, Chemical Brothers and Soul Magic Orchestra.
Unlike “Revenge,” the “Dance” and Weezer versions of the game are priced at 4.99 dollars (US) each at the App Store.
Weezer and other musicians connected with Tapulous as “Revenge” gained momentum and iPhone sales continued to soar.
Weezer band member Scott Shriner said often fans at their concerts wave iPhones showing on-screen virtual lighter flames, a playful fire-free application for the devices.
“The drummer and I are big iPhone fans, and I’m a huge gaming fan at the same time and obviously a huge music fan,” Shriner said while discussing teaming up with Tapulous.
“Weezer’s goal for a while now has been to get fans more involved in our music and live shows and this seemed a way to get people physically involved in our music.”
Besides, he added, “I love Christmas songs and it seemed like a good match.”
There have been “well over” three million downloads of “Revenge” during the past four months and the appeal is clear to artists seeking ways to sell their music and connect with fans, according to Tapulous co-founder Andrew Lacy.
“For the last 10 years the music industry has been struggling to re-invent itself and counter slumping sales,” Lacy said.
“Being on MySpace or Facebook and connecting with fans is more important than ever. But, if you look at games artists are being more successful selling music there than they are in the traditional model.”
“Guitar Hero” published by Activision is a videogame sales superstar and “Rock Band” by Harmonix has earned similar acclaim. Shriner said Weezer is “absolutely” exploring putting its music in more videogames.
“People are engaging with the music products and are willing to pay a pretty big premium,” Decrem said.
“The friction gets removed. The iPhone is always in your pocket and always connected online, so people can access music and games at all times.”
Tapulous launched in January of this year with the goal of crafting applications exclusively for iPhones and iPod Touch devices, which are essentially iPhones without the mobile telephone feature.
“We got really excited by the device,” Lacy said. “We saw it as a truly disruptive platform.”
Tapulous had “Revenge” and two other applications ready when Apple opened its App Store in July.
“It started as a simple music rhythm game but we developed a relationship with musicians and labels that saw it as a platform to interact with users.”
“Revenge” launched with about five music tracks that Tapulous hired artists to create but has grown to 55 songs including “some really big hits.”
Tapulous teamed with musician Trent Reznor to make a version of the game devoted to his Nine Inch Nails music.
Tapulous splits revenues with musicians after paying a standard 30 percent of the price of its games with the App Store.
A major overhaul of the free game is planned for early next year.
“We are also talking to the artists about refreshing and updating the game, so these are sort of living things that evolve,” Decrem said. “We have been approached by artists and labels so we will be doing more of these in the coming year.”
