Electronic gaming has long had the ability to play games socially. They have evolved from the old two player combat arcade games, which people have fed millions if not billions of quarters to, all the way to consoles that rival some PCs in processing power. Games like Guitar Hero and Rock band have melded the desire of people to game and the desire of people to play music and created an entire new genre of gaming.
Few people have the talent or time to learn to play the guitar, or drums yet what male has not wanted to play the guitar at some point in their lives. Whether they wanted to be a rock god as a teenager or whether they wanted to learn to play because they liked the sound and versatility of the guitar many people have wanted to learn. Guitar Hero took the guitar and stripped it to the bare essentials. Instead of having to place your fingers on the strings in just the right spot and move your hand up and down the neck of the guitar you simply press the appropriate colored button. Also instead of having to pluck or pick just the right string or strings you simply flip a toggle up or down. Combine this with a simple scrolling display that shows which button to hit and how long to hold it and playing the guitar has, in a sense, become accessible to almost everyone.
Many people enjoy playing the game by themselves but it becomes even more fun when you add in the ability to play with or against another person. The game can be played cooperatively with one person playing lead and another bass or competitively where each person gets “powerups” to try and make the other person make more mistakes and get booed off the game stage. This ability is what has made the game, and genre, the runaway success it has become. Newer games in the genre such as Rock Band move beyond the guitar and two person oriented play and add in the ability to have a drummer and vocalist. At this point the game enters the realm of a party game. I know of few people that would not enjoy playing music themselves and with the power of modern gaming systems and a few well designed add-on controllers they can do just that.
I can understand the attraction of the game for those of us who are not too musically inclined - but my son and his friends play this game all the time, and they are all in a band that plays local gigs all the time. They have recorded a demo and been offered a recording contract, so I would consider them semi-professional musicians. What the draw for them to play this game is just beyond my understanding!
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