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Guitar Hero World Tour Music Creation Demonstration
1Up has a video of a detailed demonstration of Guitar Hero: World Tour's music creation system from GamesCon 2008. Activision shows off its robust note-recording system, which features dozens of different tones and sounds as well as the ability to play full musical scales. Tilting the guitar up and down can change octaves (or loudness for the drum machine). Users will also be able to record loops and tweak them for inclusion in full songs, which can accommodate all four players. The songs can then be uploaded and shared with the community.
With the controllers getting more complex,the next natural step is fretted, stringed activation. Might as well just get a real guitar. The difference is:
Controller: you do the instrumental karaoke thing, some people appreciate it, you go home with the admiration of a small clique. Limited to songs you purchase. Plastic junk you eventually garage sale.
Guitar: you actually milk out the sounds in your head, most people appreciate it, you go home with that blond in the front row. Not limited to songs included in game modules. Guitar has some resale value to enable better model in the future.
(I've quoted the parent in its entirity, inserting whitespace and fixing minor punctuation issues).
My background, so that you can put what I'm saying into perspective: I have three guitars [Stratocaster, Telecoustic, Flying V], I've taken guitar lessons through five years about ten years ago; I've played, I've been on a stage, I've been in a recording studio and had one of my songs recorded; I wouldn't want to give up music. I don't play much these days, but when I play Gerudo Valley (LoZ: OoT) or Ken Stage (SF2) to myself I like what I hear.
I've played GH:Aerosmith at my local video game store, and a different version at one other occasion. I've ordered GH3 for my wii, and I expect it to be worth the monies.
You do have a point, and here's what I think it is when stated in neutral terms: real guitars and GH guitars give you different things. I agree with that, whole-heartedly. You then go on to add your personal value judgments on the two different things through claims about what they will give you.
I don't believe all the claims. I also don't believe your list is complete. I never went home with the blond in the front row, for one, but that's because I also read slashdot ;) Staying in the "I read slashdot" ballpark: I have a very well-informed opinion based on the article which I didn't read, and it is that with GH you are not (contrary to your claim) limited to the songs you buy---you can create your own; or did I miss a badtitle?
You fail to mention that guitars cost significantly more than GH games. True, there's resale value, but my experience is that you become emotionally attached to guitars and don't want to sell them; also, buying and reselling a guitar is going to cost your more than a GH game. Second of all, note how I said I learned to play the guitar by taking lessons? It's not easy; it takes time and effort before you sound just as good as the game does when you play it well. It takes even more time until you're writing your own music.
Also, GH is a fun kind of musical-ish competition (if you've played singstar you know what I'm talking about, although GH is quite a bit more light on the musical skill thing), which is fun, and social interaction; either playing with friends, or chatting with the other customers in the video game store. True, playing in a band does that as well, but it takes more than one person with comparable skill level and musical taste.
Your post is presenting a false dichotomy between enjoying GH and enjoying the real deal. One can enjoy both, and enjoy both for exactly what they are; I love my guitars, I love composing, soon I'll be auditioning for a local band that needs another guitar player. I love the music. I'm also an avid gamer, since my first computer which was an Amiga 500 (and, although chess is a board game, games is what got me into programming, which I'll probably do professionally). I predict that I'll enjoy playing GH very much, that it'll be great fun, and that I'll beat the crap out of my non-guitar-playing friends ;) and I'll love it for what it is: a great game [and emphatically *not*: a replacement for the real thing].
Also, my stage experience says to go for the goth chick with black hair and a nose ring. You know, the one with the perky breasts who looks at you with this curiously intense stare. She'll insist on letting her girlfriends take part in the fun too. Bet you didn't know that, huh? ;)