Being a twenty-something male brought up in the full swing of the digital age, not much has changed from when I was a teenager. There are still the same segregated groups of Emos, Chavs, and trendies, that hang around town centres on a Saturday, the local Sunday league football teams that are often ruled by screaming parents on the sidelines – and skinny jeans are still in fashion. However, there are a lot of things that differ from when I was sixteen or seventeen – not least the majority of teenagers are consumed by gadgets 24 hours a day. Take the invention of the Nintendo Wii for example; despite being a very expensive means of exercise, it restricts children to the four walls of their house and stops them experiencing the finer things in life, like creating music.
I still remember vividly the day a drum kit was bought for me, I’m also very sure my neighbours remember that day just as well – maybe for different reasons. The point being, I had wanted to start a band so badly that in that point in time nothing really mattered to me except making music with my friends – however horrendous it sounded. As the Nintendo Wii has gradually found its feet in the gaming industry – currently selling 1 billion consoles annually – it has released music related games like sing-star, and guitar hero, which should be taken as a light-hearted game with a plastic guitar and no real means to hurt anyone. But is it affecting independent music businesses’? I asked local music shop employee Carl about the problem; “The game itself has taken a lot of passing trade from us, because the teenagers that would have picked up a guitar and bought from us are now taking the easier option of messing about on Guitar Hero”.
Although independent music shops such as the Rhythm House in Hanley, Stoke – on – Trent are loosing business to the so-called Guitar Hero wannabe’s who opt for the warmer, more convenient option of pushing a few buttons in the comfort of their own home, the Guitar Hero brand is in danger of loosing valuable custom because of the sheer volume of games they have released. The Guitar Hero franchise has now released in total – 14 different versions - each incorporating different factors such as, Guitar Hero – Warriors of Rock, World Tour, and a Greatest Hits collection. Releasing so many versions of Guitar Hero creates an already trending problem for the creators. This problem being that there is a vast amount of song material to download from their website, people who already have the Guitar Hero package are not going to invest in something they can simply download off the website. Dereck from Game in The Potteries explains the growing problem that the franchise is facing “The current Guitar Hero for the Wii console has flopped, because everyone is sick of it. The game itself is sound – it’s probably one of the best ones they have done, but because people have got older versions of the game and can download new songs, there is no point in buying the current version”.
To further these problems, The Rhythm House in Hanley sells a starter guitar bundle for a beginner at just £130, this is including the chosen guitar, case or bag, mini amplifier, pipe tuner, and plectrums. This price comes in stark contrast to a Wii console bundle with Guitar Hero 5 which comes to a total price of £320. “With the current economic climate in such a state, it is a very expensive item to be buying. Also, [Guitar Hero] Rock Band is struggling, because as I said earlier people already own the guitars and drum sets. So, what’s being done now is they are bringing out additions like a keyboard for example – this makes people want to add to their collection. They also have a professional mode on Guitar Hero: Rock Band, where you can by £125 guitar and it has 24 frets, with each fret having 6 buttons – so you are able to form chords and play a song correctly” explains Dereck from Game.
Becoming a button pusher will cost you £155. The real thing will cost you £120, a lot of hard work, and irate neighbours. Priceless.
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