The music genre is evolving faster than almost any other in gaming, and 2009 saw the release of over a dozen rhythm games across all platforms, including cell phones and arcade. Rock Band Unplugged surprisingly managed to port the series onto the PSP, showing gamers that plastic instruments weren’t always necessary for a good rhythm game. DJ Hero was a risk for publisher Activision, but ended up being a promising start to a new series. Guitar Hero 5 was the best Guitar Hero game in years, and the best full-band game in the series to date. Band Hero, while essentially a clone of Guitar Hero 5, managed to make the family-friendly formula fun, with a varied setlist full of hits for all ages. Yes, it was a good year for music games, with the winner years—you could even say decades—in the making.

From the second it was announced, The Beatles: Rock Band had an unprecedented amount of hype for a game in the genre. Finally, the most prolific and beloved band in rock history was coming to video games, and most gamers were confident in Harmonix’s ability to craft a worthy product focusing on the Fab Four. Concerns about the short setlist were raised in the weeks before release, but as it turned out, all gamers needed was love and 45 songs. The dreamscapes were beautiful, the recreated venues were fantastic, and the feeling of playing that final rooftop concert was, on a much smaller scale, parallel to the Beatles’ actual final performance. It was sad that the game was almost over, but the experience was totally worth it.