Video Games vs. the Real Thing

Lee, Thomas. "Some Strings Attached." Minneapolis StarTribune. 6 March 2009: D1+.

This is an interesting article because it addresses whether or not there might be a connection between people doing video games like Guitar Hero then moving on to the real thing (e.g. actually learning to play the guitar). Lee writes about the development of Headliner, a digital guitar developed by the local Minneapolis-based Zivix LLC. According to Zivix president Dan Sulliivan, the purpose of Headliner is "not meant to be just another another tricked-out controller. By holding and feeling out a real guitar, players may want to actually learn how to play the instrument and write music" (Lee D1). However, as Lee notes, "[s]o far, the numbers don't bear that out" (D2). This article appears in the business section, so it's heavy on the economics of this endeavor. Still, if you are interested in the connections (or lack of connections) between video games and their real-life counter-parts, than you'll be interested in this article.

Photograph by Glen Stubbe

for the StarTribune