What's with all these stupid "air guitar" video games?

People like it because it’s a form of escapism. Plus, it’s a step above “pure” air guitar. People dance all around their apartments, etc. to music, but with dance dance revolution, you’re simply upping the ante a bit. it’s the same thing.

Rock Band let’s you sing into a video game, for points. It’s just fun!

(p.s. – rumor has it that the next Rock Band iteration will have a keyboard peripheral. 80s new wave song package anyone?!)

Oy, I really must be “old grumpy” cause I reeeeeeally, reeeeeeeeeeeally don’t get it.

it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, i’ll admit it. but some people think chess is silly too. and a lot of people didn’t care for tetris either, back in the day.

it’s really just an extension of karaoke, and that’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea.

lol

Karaoke, particularly in this country we do not miss a chance to embarrass ourselves

Heh. well, really, that’s what it is. Just with more noise-making instruments besides your voice. and, like karaoke, the more booze involved, the more interesting the results!

I would have to say you’re very much wrong. It’s certainly not the most stupid video game it is (take a look at any kids-movie-video games for those). It’s actually a very fun game, especially for people who are not musically inclined and who could never learn to play a guitar or sing. And even for those who are musically inclined, as I am, it’s a great way to practice singing (after all, a voice is a voice), and playing the digital drums is pretty much training for playing real drums (not only are your muscles beefing up, but you learn the basic drumming patterns and techniques which are the same for regular and digital drums). Furthermore, it’s a new way of interacting with music and your favorite artists. For instance, I’m learning to recognize drumming in all types of songs, and it opens up a new understanding to the song.

Why you have to be so mean and dismissive of it, I have no clue. Wasn’t it you who was complaining about being grouped in with nasty smokers? Well you’ve just grouped me in with your impression of these dorky players playing this game! GASP I’m OFFENDED! Well no I’m not, because I have thick skin and don’t really care about what random folk on the internet think.

I play Rock Band just about every night after everyone else has gone to bed. I’ve been playing it for just over a year now and I really like it. It’s my own little “me” time every day.

Yes, it does look dorky but I really don’t care.
Yes, I’ve been seen at Best Buy or Wal-Mart playing a guitar in electronics.
(I was trying out GHWT)
I’m a grown-ass man. I can make my own decisions to do what I want no matter how I look to someone passing by.

Shame you can’t get past the image of what it is and underneath to what it actually is. And what it actually is a great deal of fun. Your not the first person to express such an opinion… my soon to be ex-wife used to call me and my friends all sorts of names for playing it. Thank fuck I’m getting rid of her eh!

personally, i think grown men running around with a ball, making grunting noises in public (at a park, gym) is funnier and more odd than this.

but i’m not a jock, so…

I play Rock Band all the time. It’s SO FUN. It helps with your rhythm, it really does. For the guitar or bass, that’s, you know about it. It helps with rhythm and hand-eye coordination.

For drums, you kind of learn the drums a bit. You could definitely move from drums to real drums and have a bit of a step up.

For singing? It teaches you to sing. It really does. When I started I was medium and that was tough with the singing. But you get better and the getting better is learning a bit about singing. It’s cool.

Anyway, it’s hella fun. (Yes, I said “hella”.) Like, if music doesn’t make you want to bop around and sing, it’s not for you. But if it does, then it’s way fun.

My boyfriend’s apartment plays all the time. We’re the best real-fake-band ever!!

I think it’s awesome. You don’t do it to look ‘cool’, you do it because it’s fun to try and keep up with the notes. Same reason you play any game.

@introv Are you leaving your wife for Guitar Hero?

lmao… Guitar Hero vs The Wife… the battle continues.

@richardhenry I completely agree

It gives people the feeling that they are really making real music, without requiring any practicing or commitment.

@cwilbur Um, Rock Band takes practice and commitment if you want to top out on Expert.

I don’t really agree with the “real music” thing. I know it’s not real music. I play it because it’s a game. A game that I can get better at and see the results.

I play on expert, and I’m not too bad at it either, however there are still 3–4 songs that I can barely beat on hard (Battery, Visions, etc..). Raising my skill level and challenging myself to get better is a lot of the fun for me. Not to mention that I’m a completest and have to buy every song that comes out every week, and since RB2 came out I’m still trying to get scores posted & reposted for all my songs.

Keeps you occupied when you have 566 songs to play. (And 7 more on Thursday)

@richardhenry lol ,,, not quite although the fringe benefit of being able to dance round my living room playing a plastic guitar without fear of being called an idiot sounds great to me. Also, i would say if she had joined me rocking out while playing GH our relationship might have been a great deal stronger instead of being a judgmental bitch and… lol I’ll stop there eh ;)

The family that plays together… stays together. or something

Preach on Brother introv

lol

@EmpressPixie: and when you’ve invested all that practice and commitment, all you get is bragging rights. Imagine what you’d have if you actually picked up a real guitar.

@TaoSan Have you actually tried it? I think you’d be pleasantly surprised.

Yeah EmpressPixie, imagine – you could have invested hours and hours into learning how to play an instrument, then more hours in forming and maintaining a band, and even more hours (and stress) in practicing and playing dinky gigs in a bar for a pay of $15 and three beers each, then have the band break up over some trivial issue, leaving you with… bragging rights. And maybe a copy of your CD if you got that far. Yes, and knowledge in an instrument. Then you can do this all over again without having to relearn the instrument! Yay!

Real instrument, plastic instrument. Use whatever makes you happy.

These games are really fun, TaoSan. Don’t be a hater.

@cwilbur: Didn’t I already say that I sing? If I didn’t, then here it is: When we play, I sing. I’ve gone from being embarrassed to able to open my mouth in public. Also from an awful singer to able to jump into any song on hard (many on expert) and do just fine. The game did actually teach me to sing. I’m not about to audition for opera, but when I sing in the kitchen no one tells me to shut up. And that makes me happy.

Plus I get bragging rights. Like these: I did the entire “Endless Setlist”. On hard. Singing. Successfully. Woo! Go me!

@whackyrusty

Actually no, I haven’t. I’m not even quite sure about the mechanics. Do these “instruments” actually have buttons that correspond to a note, or how does it work?

@dynamicduo

Thread-cross-grudging seems to be the latest hit on Fluther these days.

I fail to see the correlation between me (as stated) perceiving a game as dorky, and being rudely called an inconsiderate ass by someone who never met me which is what happened in the other thread.

I’m not dismissive about it at all, I merely stated that a 30 year old guy standing in Best Buy rocking with a plastic guitar, looked, well, pretty unique.

Hope this appeased you

Rhythm games are fun, its as simple as that.

Anyone ever play pop n’ music? That game is pretty damn hard.Just look at the pad for it.

Why are you trying to appease me? I sure don’t care for it.

What’s hard to see about the situations being quite similar? You were stereotyped and took offense. I was also stereotyped here – you used the words “stupid” and “dorky” to describe a game and its player, the tone of your last line’s question is clearly condescending, and finally, can you really not see your obvious stereotyping in the question “what’s with all these stupid “air guitar” video games”? They’re not even air guitar games by definition! I will say that they are not 100% similar, because I’ve recognized that your comments come from ignorance (you yourself say you’ve never played one of these games nor know how they work) instead of hatred or loathing. But still, stereotyping is stereotyping.

I would have loved to explain to you how the games work… but my time is best spent elsewhere. Try reading Wikipedia for answers on how the game’s underlying mechanisms work.

Wow. i didn’t expect this kind of conversation from this question!

@eponymoushipster

I label it cross-thread-grudging, and it seems to be the latest hit.

@TaoSan oh. weird.

Maybe in your world it’s the latest hit. But it’s the first time I’ve used it, let alone seen it being used. One time does not a pattern make, well for rational freethinkers it doesn’t.

@dynamicduo

Well, maybe you’re only aware of half the threads that I’m thinking of right now.

Rational freethinkers get all the facts before making statements, in my world this is.

And for clarification purposes, I haven’t stereoptyped people who play the game at all, I labelled the game stupid, which I still think it is, I never said that makes the actual players anything. You’re wildly interpreting an offensive act into that where in fact there isn’t.

“I labelled the game stupid, which I still think it is”

@TaoSan How can you think Guitar Hero & Rock Band games are any more or less stupid than any other game?
I can appreciate another persons opinion but it seems you’re getting overly defensive when people take offense at being called stupid or when you attack something they like. I noticed that you like Star Wars Galaxies, a game that I personally abhor, but you aren’t going to see any questions posted by me about how people who play that game are stupid because it’s a stupid game.

As far as the sight of a business-looking man in his 30’s playing it in the store, I can see how that would look funny. Any grown-up playing a game looks funny in that way. I used to avoid playing games that were on display for that very reason. Then it hit me that I was changing my choices and activities based on what a stranger might think.

@Sakata

Exactly what I’m saying. My being defensive is rooted in the actual quarrel being in another thread someone felt they needed to bring over here.

As for stupid, to me it is. But then my 6 hour HALO3 sessions might seem stupid to others.

@Fieryspoon

naa, not hating at all :) Bad choice of word, okay it’s not stupid then, it’, well…..hm…...peculiar?

@TaoSan…I LOVE both Rock Band and Guitar Hero. What I love more is your right as an American to state your opinion of them.

Don’t back down just because popular opinion doesn’t match yours. And if you have shit coming at you from other threads just remember…it’s only their opinion.

They are fun. I don’t play video games much anymore but I occasionally do around my buddies that are gamers. People try to tell me Im a 27 year old man and shouldn’t be skateboarding anymore. Why the fuck not? Its fun. Whats with spending hours on Fluther a day answering and reading questions? More than likely it entertains you. People do a lot of stuff I might find peculiar or stupid. Hey as long as your having fun and you ain’t hurting me more power to you. Your only old as you act and feel.

@Blondesjon

I’m not backing down at all, just trying to break a cycle of some people dragging grudges across several threads.

I still think the game itself is quite stupid, dunno why that makes some deduce that this reflects in any manner on anyone playing it. I enjoy plenty of “stupid” occupations, wouldn’t think of feeling attacked or offended if someone called them stupid though, ‘cause that’s what they are…..smirk.

Just trying to be an exemplary netizen by being able to revise myself if someone feels walked over, that’s all.

but it’s so fun.

i was completely skeptical about it at first just because of the mass amounts of people who obsess over it, but a friend talked me into playing guitar hero with her one weekend and i am not addicted, but i definitely had fun.
it’s no different than liking any other video game really. i mean, tons of video games are stupid or all of them. next time you go to best buy, give it a shot when no one’s looking. you might have fun even if you feel ridiculous. (;

Or when you think no one’s looking lol

In a Best Buy store you’d definitely need blindfolds to believe that lol

Had to throw this in lol

I’d be okay with of if they didn’t have 12 different types of the same game