During our tender teenage years, the world seems to have abundant opportunity and we dream and ponder what our adult future could hold for us. Before graduating high school my dream was to be a rock star. My parents thought I was somewhat nuts because, at the time, my brain was on focused on the dream of rock stardom, and yes, I confess - I slept with my guitar.
To this day I don't regret sleeping with her while she wasn't in her protective case. I would caress my fender's strings in the middle of the night, and massage the area where the amplifier jack plugged in.
I took her wherever I went and at times you could catch me playing a riff for my buddies at the local Circle K.
My acoustic/electric was my best friend. However, unfortunately for her, we parted ways shortly after I graduated high school, and my dreams of becoming the next Bob Dylan faded.
At times I used to be upset that I never graced a stage with 50,000 adoring fans chanting my name. Now a new ray of hope has come to the rescue.
A video game by the name of "Guitar Hero" has come to save a new generation of pimply-faced teenagers' dreams of achieving rock star status. Nowadays kiddies, you don't have to take a single lesson, or even learn simple bar chords. It doesn't require musical talent, or any creativity for that matter.
"Imagine that," I thought the first time I watched a young kid play this addictive game at the local Best Buy. I was virtually flabbergasted! All the time I spent practicing and taking lessons from some has-been hippie who was always stoned out of his gourd was wasted time. I totally wasted my high school years spending time with friends and being creative with musical instruments, not to mention trying to perfect a scream to incorporate into my vocals.
What a loser I was. I could have been the next Jimi Hendrix without ever leaving the comfort of my own bedroom.
All I had to do was glue myself to a television set and practice my hand-eye coordination. I am literally kicking myself because I would have never had to learn how to play a guitar, let alone be creative. I wish I was a teenager growing up in this day and age so all the girls would flock to this guitar hero.
According to the NPD Group, a market research company, 63 percent of Americans are playing video games, and sales for "Guitar Hero II" totaled 1.3 million during November and December of 2006. Now, with the onslaught of the latest version, "Guitar Hero III," sales could reach $600 million by the end of 2007, as reported in the Dec. 19 edition of USA Today.
The NPD Group reported total video game revenue has surpassed the 2006 record-setting year of $12.5 billion. This means simply, more and more people are playing video games than ever before, and "Guitar Hero" is so addictive that people who don't normally play are now crossing the fence into a new gaming era.
Maybe Harmonix (the company that produces "Guitar Hero") and its top designer Daniel Sussman could develop a game about journalism and graphic design. Then I could quit college, move back home with my parents and begin cultivating my gaming skills.
Or possibly Harmonix could produce a game about doctors, lawyers or construction workers. Then nobody would have to study medicine, law, or worry about building the next infrastructure to house future generations, and we could all sit at home in front of our televisions and live out our lives to fullest possible potential.
csedler@unews.com
