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A17

Nelson Hum

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The Guitar Hero/Rock Band series has revitalized the rhythm game genre and even video games as a whole. Much like the Wii, Guitar Hero and Rock Band have pretty much crossed over into the general public's consciousness. There's no denying its impact: tournaments in bars, music stores encouraging players to become "real guitar heroes" by picking up the real instruments. Heck, I'm sure everyone has been to at least one party in the last year where either Guitar Hero or Rock Band was the main form of entertainment.

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Guitar Hero III

But aside from being a fun activity at your local Maritime kitchen party, the game has greatly benefited musicians as well. Thanks to Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, sales of Aerosmith tracks on iTunes jumped and the band has been raking in tons of money in royalties. Hmm...gain new fans. Check. Make an ass-load of money. Double-check. Sounds like a win-win to me.

Personally, I never listened to a Boston song until I played Foreplay/Long Time on Rock Band. After that, I was hooked and promptly downloaded...I mean, legally purchased, their music. The same can be said about Coheed and Cambria, who now enjoy regular rotation in my car's CD player.

If you need more convincing that rhythm games are a viable avenue to reaching fans or increasing your exposure, look no further than Metallica. That's right: the same band that would have sued you five years ago for doodling their logo on the back of your Hilroy notebook has now released their entire new album on Guitar Hero III as playable tracks. Hell, aside from iTunes, selling your songs through the game seems to be the only way now to get people to pay for your songs. When was the last time you actually bought a CD?

Most importantly, I think it's great that the game may be encouraging people to get into playing actual music. Music stores are definitely trying to jump onto the trend, with advertisements challenging people to become a "real guitar hero." Let me clear this up right away for everyone: playing the guitar in the game will not teach you how to play real guitar. Six coloured buttons doesn't equal countless chords, scales, and frets.

Playing the drums however, is a different story. Speaking as a drummer, playing an actual drum kit is different when compared to playing on a plastic accessory (drum/cymbal placement, distance, feel, etc.). However, given enough time and effort, the game can give you insight into actual drum patterns and beats. If you can nail the beat in the game, you should be able to nail the same pattern on an actual kit. Anyone who tells you differently definitely has some bias and is probably posting comments like "leRnz rReAllz drUmz...you SuxX0r" on someone's Rock Band YouTube video. If you have issues with someone on fake plastic instruments, you need a hobby. If banging on fake plastic instruments makes you want to learn the real thing, then rock on! Besides, it's one less score I'll have to beat on the online leaderboards anyways!

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