Anecdotally speaking, the guitar teaching business has never been better for Bo Moore, a West Pennsylvania guitar teacher. Speaking with The Tribune-Democrat, he says, "We're so busy right now, and I think these games have been a big factor behind it," referring to the likes of Guitar Hero and Rock Band inspiring young musicians to pick up the real thing after playing the plastic equivalent. Quick, somebody tell Prince to chill out!Moore says he's seen a 35 percent uptick in guitar lessons over the past two years, an increase he attributes to the mainstream ubiquity of Activision and EA's rhythm-based music games. In fact, around 80 percent of the over 100 students currently enrolled with him have taken to the guitar. Unfortunately for those teaching other instruments, business hasn't been so hot. Moore claims, from conversations he's had with other teachers, that business is down if you're not teaching the guitar. "We need more kids learning to play woodwind instruments ... we need more piano players," he says. The piece's author opines that titles like "Xylophone Xanadu" might help to push kids into other instruments, though we all know Sitar Hero is going to be the one to do it.[Via GamePolitics]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Activision Blizzard has announced that European territories will be receiving an exclusive "Solo Guitar Game" bundle when Guitar Hero: Metallica launches on May 22 (May 29 in the UK). The bundle will contain a copy of the game, a wireless guitar controller and the exclusive faceplate which you can see in the image to the right.By now, ardent followers of the rhythm genre should have more peripherals than they can count, but it doesn't end there. With four new games having just been announced, there'll be plenty more plastic instruments -- and DJ decks -- where that came from.Permalink | Email this | Comments

We took Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 through the paces recently -- Wii MotionPlus included -- and encountered a fair bit of confidence from product manager Randy Chase, who said, "You know ... I just realized that this is going to put those really expensive digital golf swing analyzers out of business." Actually it's not quite that accurate, but it's getting there. Perhaps one day you can look forward to suckering golf wannabees out of thousands of dollars by charging them for "lessons" from Tiger Woods himself.Randy took a few swings with Tiger Woods back in March, and we're happy to echo his sentiments. It's very rewarding to switch over to the MotionPlus and watch your golfer avatar follow along pretty darn precisely with your swing. It not only makes the game feel more intuitive, but (amazingly) coaxes you off the couch. No slumped flailing here!Before you go on, let us point you to some additional media

• Xbox 360 and PS3 screenshots
• Videos: Wii and Xbox 360 / PS3.

Continue reading Joystiq hands-on: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10, now with frisbee golf!

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Nintendo's strategy for the DSi has evolved from "one DS per household" to "one DS per person." This slide from Satoru Iwata's fiscal year 2008 financial results briefing demonstrates just how frighteningly close Nintendo has come to that goal in Japan.According to the chart, 26.1million DS systems have been purchased in Japan, or 20.5% of the population of the country. That means that if each DS belonged to one person, one fifth of Japan would own a DS. Of course, each DS doesn't belong to one person -- people who bought DS Phats re-bought Lites and then DSis; and no doubt many people bought second systems for a new color scheme or a limited-edition, or to replace a broken system. Regardless, the DS has undeniably made its mark on Japanese society.The US and Europe, on the other hand, have almost reached ten percent market penetration each. Just ten percent? That's merely outstanding -- what a disappointment for Nintendo.[Via Kotaku]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments