Interesting review from an actual rocker's perspective. Just wanted to point one thing out:

" When I looked carefully, I realized I was having a party where people were sitting around playing video games. And, really, if you are going to play the game with a group of friends for more than a night, shouldn't you just form a real band? There is something sad about the thought of four teenagers getting Rock Band for Christmas and spending all of their after-school time pretending to know how to play."

My husband and I got Rock Band day 1 and positively love it because it combines my love of Karoake Revolution with his love of Guitar Hero. I am actually a singer but Rock Band (or Karaoke Revolution for that matter) definitely don't improve my skills but rather I have to bastardize them much like an actual guitar player must pervert his skills to suceed at this. My point? It's not just teenage boys spending 5 hours a day at a video game. My husband would rather play this game a few hours several day nights a week after a hard day of work for fun than spend those few hours trying to learn actual guitar which would be more work than hobby for him. And if there wasn't this simulation game, he wouldn't want to play the real guitar, he would just play another game to relax.

At Thanksgiving his whole family played with us and it was a blast. I never knew his mother's fondness for the song Cherry Bomb or that his brother could shout Beastie Boys with best (or worst) of them. The video game demographic has long since left the 15 year old boy as the majority. People play the game for fun as you and your friends at that party. Those who want to learn how to play an instrument will, but for others there is Rock Band for a quick rock star fix.

Once again, very interesting review! I just hate to see people reduce everything about video games to being about teenage boys. I know and love a large variety of games, mostly RPGs and MMOs, and I know a lot of couples that game together. And most of us haven't had acne or awkward erections in a good while.

"My husband would rather play this game a few hours several day nights a week after a hard day of work for fun than spend those few hours trying to learn actual guitar which would be more work than hobby for him. And if there wasn't this simulation game, he wouldn't want to play the real guitar, he would just play another game to relax."

You hit the nail on the head. Haters of Guitar Hero, DDR, Rock Band, etc., like to criticize the people who play these games for not doing the real thing (dancing, rocking out, whatever) instead, but the logical comparison is not between Guitar Hero and playing the guitar, but between Guitar Hero and some other video game. The vast majority of people are like your husband; were it not for Guitar Hero they'd be unwinding with some other game, not learning to play the guitar. I wish people would stop pretending that these music games are quelching the ambition of would-be musicians!

The video game demographic has long since left the 15 year old boy as the majority. People play the game for fun as you and your friends at that party. Those who want to learn how to play an instrument will, but for others there is Rock Band for a quick rock star fix.

Such an excellent point. Over the Thanksgiving week I had friends and family from mid-20's (like myself and my wife) to early 30's playing Rock Band and having an absolute blast.

From the ESA:

"The average age of the game buyer is 40 years old. ... Forty-four percent of most frequent game players are over 35 years old."

This is the new, mostly ignored reality of video games. I liked your personal story of Rock Band-ing but your review makes it sound like this is an utterly foolish pursuit suitable for the most socially undesirable elements of our culture. For the record we had playing several corporate types, a writer, a nurse, a Marine, and myself a government employee playing. We're happy, mostly married, young professional types not hopeless geeks in our mothers basement with our instruments next to piles of D&D books.

My D&D books are upstairs in my office, thank you very much.

Personally I've been playing instruments since I was in the first grade not just guitar much like the God of music who gave the review. I find Guitar hero and Rock band to be a lot of fun and purchased Guitar Hero to play with someone I'm seeing who is also musically talented with multiple instruments. I also have a band I jam with and write music with on real instruments......in all it's a game and this review is pathetically given by an elitist. Who really gives a rats a$@ whether people are playing the game or a real instrument. Either way they are enjoying music and isn't that what music is about in the first place. I have a sneaky suspicion that the guitar hero who wrote the article is also one who determines the quality of a song by how well the individuals can "shred" and not by it's composition. Just remember buddy....there's always someone out there better than you and waiting to knock you off your high horse!

Now that's funny. That's exactly what The Guitar Hero's band didn't stand for. Your suspicion isn't particularly sneaky...just wrong.

It gives you a new appreciation for music, too. I find myself picking out the guitar line in songs on the radio, even when it's buried. I love playing duo on GH2 and hope to try out Rock Band too.