Music games, they used to be so inoffensive. A few cheeky steps on a Dance Dance Revolution, the odd weird peripheral that could never catch on and then suddenly Guitar Hero and its ilk comes along and we're looking at not only a new genre, but the saviour of the industry, a new gaming supernova which brings casual and hardcore together in perfect harmony, one gaming nation under a gaming groove...
Norks, say I. In 2008, we (well I say 'we', I mean 'you', you idiots), spent a massive $1.4 billion on games like Rock Band, Guitar Hero and their many irritating imitators. This should not be a source of pride to you ladies and gentlemen, it should be a source of shame.
This is what you don't look like...
So first up I'll admit I'm biased, I play guitar relatively okay and a few other instruments fairly badly and yup I can hold my hand on my heart and say as a muso I'm a massive snob about it and righteously offended by the success of these games.
Okay so first there's the caterwauling, then the endless entreaties to join in the 'fun' and worst of all the thumpy-thumpy of those diddy plastic drums. . But I suppose my biggest objection is that if you're going to spend all that time learning to play Rock Band, you might as well do the job properly and learn to be in an actual rock band.
Consider this: Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix and all those guitar gods you see as unconvincing cartoon characters in the background of your moving fretboard, did not get laid so often or so spectacularly because they could clear Through the Fire and the Flames on expert.
Oh I'm familiar with all the music games lovers' arguments too. They say 'not everyone's a musician, not everyone's got the time or talent to make a go of it and it's harmless enough, giving non-musos a little sip, a tiny taste of the feeling of what it must be like to be a rock god.'
True enough I suppose, but at the end of the day when the music stops you're still a grown man/woman holding a plastic guitar and howling like a twat at your television, having shelled out a veritable shed-load of cash for the privilege.
Still, for the fearsomely prejudiced such as myself, things could all be about to change. Industry analysts are predicting that this year you'll spend half as much as you did in 2008 on music games, which is welcome, but that's still $0.7 billion too much in my humble opinion.
Still at least it's a step in the right direction - but here's a thought, instead of spending your ill-gotten gains on DLC, track packs, replacement plastic peripherals etc. spend it instead on a Fender Stratocaster and check out a few learn to play videos on the web.
Give it a year and as you roar up to Christmas 2010, you might be good enough to experience a bit of rock god action of your own.
I'm sick of all of this pedantry by so called muso's when it comes to Rockband and the like. Get of your Fecking high horse.
They are meant as fun and have even convinced people to take up playing an instrument.
My 11 nephew used to listen to nothing but rap and R&B which is fine in a way if thats what you like but now thanks to Guitar Hero and the like he also listens to stuff like the Foo Fighters, The Killers and others. In other words it expanded his musical tastes and knowledge and there is nothing bad in that.
My band has just recorded our first album. I've been playing keyboards since I was 8, drums since I was 12, guitar since I was 16 and singing all my life. I'm fairly average on most of them but am a damn good singer. I reckon that makes me just about qualified for this debate.
First of all, the entire point of Guitar Hero et al is that they're EASIER than learning a real instrument. You CAN spend hundreds of hours learning Fire & Flames if you want, but you don't NEED to just to sound good. To sound half decent on a guitar takes a lot of practice, commitment and sore fingers. The drums are a bit different because that's very similar to learning real drums (the basics at least), but the Rock Band kit is still cheaper than a real drum kit, and your family and neighbours aren't going to curse you nearly as much for hitting them as real skins.
I don't think the plastic instruments look any more ridiculous than the way some people (myself included) hold a pad and lean left and right or gurn when it gets tense.
For a lot of people, this is the only chance they'll get to emulate the feeling of playing a kick-ass tune. It's not like playing a real gig live, but the sense of accomplishment for the song itself is the same. You did it right, therefore you rock.
You might as well say "why buy loads of racing sims when for a little more money and years of training you can drive real racing cars?". It's stupid and not everyone can afford to or wants to do the real thing.
Wow. Way to insult a large portion of your readers. I think I'll fire one back. Hey James, you're clearly an asshole, I've met people like you before. Go f**k yourself.
Daz, people go through phases, saying Guitar Hero opened your 11 YEAR OLD nephews eyes to other music and gave him a more eclectic range is hardly a massive plus for it.
I grew up on Pavarotti, MJ, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and all sorts and hated RnB, and stuff like that and when I reached around 11 I discovered punk just from going to big boy school, and listened to punk nonstop for years. Now I have a massive eclectic range and like most music. What i'm saying is that you could've just got him the music and probably saved a lot of money and got the same results .
I don't mind Guitar Hero, it's a nice refresher considering I stopped playing guitar several years ago, but my gripe is DJ Hero. WHAT A STUPID GAME! I'm a DJ and this game gets on my nerves. For like 60 quid you can get a semi-decent mixer and just start mixing whatever you want! It's not hard to learn if you can feel the beat.
I was watching my friend playing DJ Hero at his house when he was trying to convince me its good, and it's horrible. The mixing is rubbish and all you are doing is actually switching between songs. RRAARRRGGGHHH!!!
Hey James, why waste all your time learning to play war games when you can go join the army? Why play GTA when you can buy a gun and go shoot up the town? Why play sports games when there's a gym down the road?
Because you're a gamer, not a soldier or a psycho or an athlete. And I'm a gamer, not a musician.
I was gonna write something venomously cutting about my hatred of driving sims, but then realised I'm not gonna get paid for it. So until you find the wit and wisdom to write something objective or entertaining, f**k off c**tybaws!
Good to hear, can't wait to get my grubby mitts on it ... I can vouch for that Even though I missed my chance seeing your band live earlier this year There's always next time though...
Cool, an actual supporter. So you do exist somewhere out there! Cheers
And back on-topic...
We must be weird, because we all like music games. They do work best in a room with people mocking you or cheering you on though. So it is possible to be both a musician and enjoy music games. It's just the tracklists for the games that I don't like. Too much bland indie and noisy metal for my taste. At least you have access to a massive download back catalogue these days.
You seem to be missing the one point of them - they are GAMES. Just like we don't have Lewis Hamilton moan at people who buy driving games (with steering wheel), or Beckham having a go because PES and Fifa fly off the shelves EVERY DAMN YEAR, and I'm fairly sure the military didn't rant at the millions that bought Modern Warfare 2.
And why was that? Because all those people know they are merely games. Just like all those that play Rock Bank, Guitar Hero, etc.
Just can it Grinch, and find something else to moan about. Perhaps if you dismounted from your high horse and tried them, you'd realise they aren't in any way trying to replace your precious real musicians...
only thought abt metallica version coz well, it's metallica but I'm way more of a techno whore nowadays (still loves me sum metal though) and thought why not save for a damn mixer so I can make some uber sets (with amazingly sh1t transitions of course) instead of doing it all for pretend.
I can understand tht all of us will never shred like hammett or hendrix and a play through once in a while makes some sort of sense. It still would feel weird though with those plastic instruments, kinda like the wii. I don't know how you cannot feel stupid waggling a remote all over the place or actually pretending to b a rock star and jumping around and trying to play with ur teeth.
The beef I do have with these games is that it hasnt progressed at all, I mean its pretty much zelda syndrome right now. Also it's getting milked like a b1tch but thts probably a company problem as I'm sure we would al b tired of any game if it was release 5 times a year.
finally, I think the title should b abt rhythm games as that is what GH RB actually r. There are some games out there that incorporate music extremely well such as audiosurf, rez and riff.
I can understand James' PoV as a musician and gamer and believe far too much money is being wasted on sequels and plastic instruments.
However we're at a time in the music scene where guitar bands aren't big anymore. RB & GH are keeping the genre live, getting younger kids interested in older bands and keeping sales of real instruments alive.
And how can he sensibly suggest forking out for a £500+ Fender Strat as your first guitar? You should be suggesting some cheap Fender Tele copy you can get from Asda for under £70. Like the Tax Break article earlier in the week this is small minded middle class journalism at its worst.
"Demos are evil" and now "Why I hate music games"... Why not make the next negative 'opinion feature': "Why game journalists are a bunch of miserable bastards incapable of finding anything worthwhile to write about."
I understand that everyone has there own opinion, and that's fair to say, but to say that these music games are of no benefit or wasting of time is taking the biscuit. The likes of guitar hero and rockband have opened up a completly new direction in gaming genre where game developers and designers can create a wider landscape. I mean guitar hero is rumoured working on something for project natal. Things like these could bring us one step forward to the one on one experience.
Of course it's never going to be the same as actually being in a band but it's only for entertainment and fun. You can't expect everyone who bought Rockband or guitarhero to go away and make a band, it's not possible. I'll have to say for one that I've picked up the guitar this year and I wouldn't of if it weren't thanks to a Guitar Hero World Tour christmas present last year
Further more the work, time and effort put into these games in order to please old and new comers should be at mind here, it's not simply putting a familar face into the game or pressing buttons to create music. You should be thankfu; that these games are here
Fuck off. Only idiots complain about these music games, you don't tell us what to fucking do, just like we don't tell you what notes to play on your real pissy guitar. We can't all be Slash playing in a big stadium, it allows us to pretend to be him and others. You can stick to your tiny gigs playing in pubs, because no-one cares about you or your guitar, you inbred twat.
Ironically, I bet this guy has at least one of these music games he despises so much. Pathetic, it really is. And you call yourself a videogames journalist? Please. So I suppose all FPS games, all Sports games, all Singstar games, all Uncharted, Tomb Raider etc games are pointless and aren't worth spending money on, either? You've put all your eggs in one basket, and you've made yourself a fool. Stupid, ignorant t**ttish journalist.
I can respect others opinions, but I can hardly respect the genre. While it's easier to twang a plastic flap and clack large buttons, you're still not playing a genuine instrument; there's a massive difference. I even remember a post ages ago that one person failed miserably playing genuine guitar despite being proficient at the same piece of music in Guitar Hero. Basically, stick to something more ficticious and you're limited to it. It's amusing to note how the games are with-holding more and more good pieces of music, for you to download onto existing games for a fee. Doesn't it sound a bit much on top of the cost of prehipals and the games, not to mention how many games have appeared in the last year? A guitar can cost more than one game, but less than several.
As a musician myself, I can fairly say that if something gets you in the door to liking music it's a plus. Some people may eventually pick up real instruments and learn, but many may not. Who really cares? You do what you want with your free time, no one has the right to tell you what to do or not to.
Speaking on the subject of money, stratocasters are expensive pieces of kit, $800 easy and that without the amp, plus you have to factor in lessons and you would have easily spent upwards of $1000 and you wouldnt be able to sound nice in any sort of a way. Games are meant to take you out of reality and allow you to divulge yourself in your own world and enjoy.
Shortsighted individuals are the everywhere, if things are not to their liking, they quickly condemn it. Reminds me of the past, everyone with ideas that went against the majority were regarded as heretics. Time has moved forward, but this problem remains the same, human seem to never learn, even though they might be the most learned individuals in authority. This editor sounds like the Chinese government, blaming woes on video games, when it's obvious that when you oppress people they will find ways to rebel. Seems like being unlearned is the best way to live, you aren't so full of yourself that you can't smell your own s**t.
I'm a good guitar player, but I still love rock band. I've had some great laffs with friends playing that into the early hours of the morning, and being s**t at drums in real life I can pretend I'm pretty decent on rock band and still build up a sweat!
Don't take it so seriously, it's a party game, and another way to enjoy music.
What I will agree on however is that there are too many iterations and copy cats now, and the peripherals are far too expensive.
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Even though I missed my chance seeing your band live earlier this year 
There's always next time though...
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