Dude, I Rock!!! - The Spark of Yahoo!
Rated • 1 review • video games, music, rock n roll, guitar hero • yahoo.com
From the page: "Dude, I Rock!!!By Mike McKiernan
Fri, October 24, 2008
According to Guitar Hero, I rock! And that's just the ego boost I need to continue rockin' my list of bitchin' tunes and shreddin' on my plastic guitar with the brightly-colored buttons. It may sound silly, but these rhythm games are a huge phenomenon. Guitar Hero and Rock Band have sold more than 30 million units combined, with over one billion dollars in revenue. That's a lot of wannabe rockers!
Among the pro rockers, though, there are mixed feelings about these games. Some rock legends -- Slash, Ozzy Osbourne, and Ted Nugent -- have embraced them and been featured, and superbands Aerosmith, AC/DC, and Metallica will all soon have titles dedicated to their music. Other musicians, however, have put this new phenomenon down, saying it's a waste of kids' time, and will only give them skills that lead nowhere. Nick Wheeler of the All American Rejects told Entertainment Weekly, "It's kind of a shame. When I was growing up, kids wanted to be in a band. Now everyone wants to play Rock Band." Well, that may be true, Nick, but how many of those kids in your day actually joined a band? And the idea that anyone who plays these games will never pick up a real guitar is a false one. In fact, guitar sales have seriously increased because of the games' popularity. Will some of those who attempt to play a real guitar be disappointed because it's not as easy as the video game? Sure, but if just one of them sticks with it and learns to play guitar because of a video game, how can you possibly put it down?
Look; in my book, it's simple: Would we rather have kids sitting on their butts playing a street hoodlum in a mindless shoot-em-up video game, or rockin' out as they play a rock star and are introduced to killer music? 'Nuff said!"
