Mega Man & Music

Capcom just released Mega Man II for the iPhone. This popular Nintendo game from the 90′s can now be played in its original format on the iPhone. The phone’s screen actually mimics a Nintendo controller and a mini screen shows up in the center.

This is brilliant. Capcom offers one level of the game for free, and 14 levels if you purchase the game for $4.99. If Super Mario Brothers and Mike Tyson’s Punch Out get released, I think they would be a huge hit.

The free version is currently #3 under top free downloads. #3 out of more than 60,000 iPhone applications. It’s popular.

These games play on our nostalgia. In the day of interactive games with the ability to play against people in Sri Lanka, it’s nice to play the simple games we grew up with on Nintendo.

How can musicians and artists use a similar concept for iPhone applications? How can a new band use nostalgia to drive interest in their music? Well, let’s think back to the 90′s. Along with Nintendo, what were other forms of popular content?

You had MTV. Tapes & CD’s were the big thing. People used to purchase things called albums and would pore over the content inside the album.

What if a band could create an application that mimicked a record player. Where the songs actually had the scratch of the needle embedded into the tracks that brought back the feel of listening to records. What if, along with the music playing in the background, users could peruse all album covers with photos, lyrics, and shout outs?

What we see in the case of the Mega Man II game is that Capcom offers a free version consisting of one level. You get addicted and want to continue, so you purchase the $4.99 full game version. Likewise, musicians could offer an app that is free with limited content. To obtain further content, the user would be directed to the app store where the full version could be purchased.

All musicians should have some sort of a smart phone so that they know what technology exists. Creating an iPhone app could be a lengthy and expensive process, but one that, if well done, could create quite a bit of buzz.

Stay tuned,
Erik
erikrostad.com
Follow me on Twitter