Why Does My Kid Want 'Guitar Hero' So Badly?

By Michael Thompson, Contributing writer

Parents may ask why their children are so into the "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero" musical video games, but those same parents could ask themselves the same question: Have you ever dreamed of being a rock star?

That's the true premise behind the "Guitar Hero" series, which started during 2005, and the "Rock Band" franchise, which followed suit during 2007. Both are poised to be big on holiday gift lists, especially with the new release of the updated "Guitar Hero World Tour."

"It is uniquely tapped into a desire by consumers to fulfill their fantasy of becoming a rock star," said Dusty Welch, RedOctane's head of publishing.

RedOctane published the early versions of "Guitar Hero" from 2005 to 2007, sold out to Activision for $100 million and now is publishing for "Rock Band," which is "Guitar Hero's" rising competitor.

Players hold a guitar-shaped controller that contains five multi-colored buttons. If they can keep pace with what they see on the screen, sound will emerge as if they are playing for real. The use of a strum bar adds to the effect.

Both "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" advertise that the games are easy to pick up and learn, but that the expert levels require high-difficulty skills.

Primary fans of "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" are kids, but some adults also get seriously involved to the point where they have organized special nights in clubs and bars, similar to karaoke.

"You have popular-culture media and entertainment that has really ushered in this notion of music and fame such as 'American Idol,'" said Dusty Welch in an interview with CNN. "I think that 'Guitar Hero,' being the first real product to bring music to the mass market in a very interactive entertainment way, is capitalizing on this pop culture phenomenon of music attachment to lifestyle.

The updated "Guitar Hero III," released a year ago, generated $115 million in sales during its first week on the market. This was the equivalent of the 13th most popular movie of all time.

"Rock Band" is developed by Harmonix Music Systems, which developed the first two versions of "Guitar Hero." After losing its contract for "Guitar Hero," Harmonix updated its technology to also include drum playing and vocals. "Guitar Hero," now developed by Neversoft, has raced to provide similar added features in the new "World Tour" version.

Parents of children who are deep into "Rock Band" or "Guitar Hero" will need to ask themselves a question: Is Johnny or Jane attracted to these video games out of a true love of music, or is Johnny or Jane simply too lazy to learn how to play a real guitar or set of drums?

Critics are mostly older scolders who know how to handle a genuine musical instrument, and some predict that the next generation of musicians will fall short because they have used video games as crutches for true effort. On the flip side, fans of "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" said some children will be inspired by the sounds they hear from pushing buttons and will aim to learn to move to the next level with real instruments.

One mother told CNN that she did not care whether her 12-year-old son learned to play a guitar or not. She was just happy that with his "Guitar Hero" game he was showing far less interest in the violent video games.