11-07-2006, 09:47 PM
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#35 (permalink)
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Psycho
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Got my copy of Guitar Hero II today... already having a blast!
A friend just sent me this link (he found it on slashdot) and I thought the folks reading this thread might be interested:
http://tinyurl.com/ymd6v7
Quote:
When Being a Fake Rock Star Is Better Than the Reality
Guitar Hero, a Videogame, Is a Big Hit With Bands;
Aping That 'Goofy Stance'
By ETHAN SMITH
November 6, 2006; Page A1
On tour with his multiplatinum hard-rock band Korn last summer, Jonathan Davis regularly whipped crowds into a frenzy with classic-rock staples such as "Iron Man," "Smoke on the Water" and "More Than a Feeling." And that was before he even got off the tour bus.
Mr. Davis, Korn's lead singer, is part of an unlikely but growing fraternity: Rock stars who are also avid players of Guitar Hero, an electronic game that lets gamers pretend to be, well, rock stars.
From superstars like Korn to up-and-comers, Guitar Hero has quickly become a fixture on tour buses and in recording studios. Intended for air guitarists who might not be able to play the real instrument, the $70 PlayStation title has also won a following in the music world. Its devotees range from alternative-rocker Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails to country stars Rascal Flatts, whose tour manager, Chris Alderman, says he frequently has trouble tearing the musicians away to conduct preconcert sound checks.
The game involves using a miniature plastic guitar to "play" along with songs associated with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Boston and the Ramones. Instead of strumming strings, players press color-coded buttons on the neck of the guitar to match "notes" that scroll across the TV screen. At the same time, players "pluck" a little toggle, earning points each time they hit a note successfully, which is then played through the speakers. A virtual crowd cheers harder the more skillfully a song is played.
The higher the degree of difficulty the player selects, the faster the notes come and the more of them there are. The game is one reason Viacom Inc.'s MTV Networks recently agreed to pay $175 million to acquire the company that developed its software and hardware, Harmonix Music Systems Inc. A second version is due out this week from publisher RedOctane Inc., a division of Activision Inc.
For many rock musicians, the game's virtual stage would seem to be a pale, unsatisfying facsimile of what they experience every night. The music they're playing along with usually isn't even an original recording. Most of the songs in Guitar Hero have been re-recorded by studio musicians.
Many professional rockers, however, say the game lets them act out a fantasy that their real lives don't quite match. Sometimes, pretending to be a rock star for a few minutes can be more fun than being one.
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There's more in the article, but there's a taste...
Last edited by grendel; 11-08-2006 at 05:45 AM..
Reason: Automerged Doublepost
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