GuitarHero-related stories

Hate to say it folks (and I know I'm about to get hit), but fathers sometimes do know best about video games. There's a fair share of dads who know their way around a wireless controller. But how many moms do you know who actually play video games for fun or with their kids?

No judgment, really, but ... quick: What's difference between Guitar Hero 2 and Rock Band 2? Grand Theft Auto and Simpson's Hit and Run? The Wii and PS3? These are questions you should know the answers to.

Relax. There's a new web site for moms (and dads), PlaySavvy.com, that explains it all. As a kick off, PlaySavvy recently held a Video Gaming Boot Camp for Moms. That's right, real moms rocking out to Guitar Hero and volleying Wii tennis. Here's a video of the event:

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Blake Peebles likes to play Guitar Hero, the video game that lets players pretend to be rock stars with a small plastic guitar. In fact, he likes to play it so much that the sixteen-year-old has dropped out of school to be able to play the game more. His hope is that he can turn his affinity for the game into a career and, so far, it looks like he might have a chance.

His parents agreed to his plans but only if he were to be tutored at home. They would rather he stayed in school, but Blake managed to wear down their resistance. "We couldn't take the complaining anymore," says his mom. "He always told me that he thought school was a waste of time." So far, Blake has won about a thousand dollars worth of prizes.

I suppose as long as the kid is learning what he would learn in school, it doesn't really matter what he does with the rest of his time, but it sure seems to me like putting all his eggs in one basket -- and a basket that has yet to show it has any real financial potential. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't let my kids quit school to play video games, no matter how good they are.

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Unlike those shops in London who use high frequency sounds to chase away children, libraries actually want children hanging around. But as Christine Lind Hage, director of the Rochester Hills Public Library in Michigan points out, spending an afternoon quietly perusing books isn't most teen's idea of a good time. "Getting teens to come to the library is right up there with getting them to go to church: It's not exactly the first place they want to go," she says.

In an effort to attract teens, some libraries have begun offering not only books to lend, but video games as well. The Rochester Hill Library stocks 1,823 video games and has an average of 1,300 checked out daily. Not only have they figured out how to get teens in the door, they have also found a way to keep them there for a while by holding video game tournaments on site. Featuring popular games like Guitar Hero and Dance, Dance Revolution, the library video game tournaments are a big draw.

"It's a big social event," said Stephanie Jaczkowski, 17. "I've met a lot of friends there, and they're really good friends."

While I do see the value in getting kids to hang out in the library as opposed to the street corners, I can't help but wonder how the video gaming impacts those who really do want to sit quietly and read a book.

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I grew with video games. I was born in 1969, so I was just after the pong craze, when the original Atari first entered the home video game market. I also went to arcades, which housed both nerds and drug users, with the occasionally nerdy drug user making strange noises mastering Asteroids or Tempest or other simple addictions.

My friends and I played Intellivision baseball until we could no longer look at each other without seeing the ridiculously basic baseball player outlines in each others eyes. My best friend's father, bless his OCD soul, was the master of Space Armada, although Andrew, my friend, secretly could beat him. I stuck to sports games mostly - and then driving games as I did not get my license until I was 30 and this was the only way I could maneuver a vehicle.

From Sega Genesis to Super Nintendo - even into our 20's we managed a very unhealthy obsession with all things video game. We did not go to arcades anymore, a little weird at 25, and they slowly gave way to the home video market anyway. Not unlike the evolution and eventual disappearance of porn theaters, allowing people to only feel shame and embarrassment and of course excitement in the privacy of their own home.

Eventually the gaming came to a halt. Alcohol became more fun and gaming and boozing really don't mix that well.

Well, enter the Wii. Santa was nice enough to drop one down our chimney this year. Hudson is just about on the edge of gaming, playing online simple games on sites like Nickelodeon or Treehouse TV, so after selling our soul to the devil, we were able to find one for Hud to enjoy. When he noticed the Wii all set up, glowing blue on our TV, he freaked out for a bit, but it did not snatch his attention like the other, more tactile Santa gifts that he opened.

Of course that all changed once he started playing. He has found three or four basic games that he can do, do very well, and now of course wants to play them all the time. I also have found a renewed interest in video games - much to the chagrin of my wife. But it is something that Hud and I can do together, and, something Hudson can earnestly beat me at. Besides, Steph and I have recently taken a like to Guitar Hero III. But that it is a post all on its own. And probably on a different site anyway.

We monitor the usage - just like we do with the television. An hour a day seems about right. He splits the hour usually. We set the stove timer so he knows exactly when the time he has allotted is up. The beep goes, the controller goes away. So far so good.

No exceptions....well that is a bit of a fib. The hour doesn't count when I am playing with him does it?