Become A Real Guitar Hero

Addicted to music video games? Maybe it's time to put down the toys and pick up the real thing.

Between Activision's powerhouse Guitar Hero franchise and MTV's upstart Rock Band, millions of couch potatoes have been turned on to the power of rock n' roll gaming. Unfortunately, the button-mashing skills that serve them so well at home don't translate to success with a real instrument at a club.

But as more and more gamers are playing to the beat, the demand for software that will actually teach them how to play for real is on the rise -- literally.

On display in a packed booth at the recent Game Developer's Conference, Guitar Rising takes the basic concept of Guitar Hero -- players strum along to popular songs for points -- and turns it into a legitimate teaching tool by exchanging plastic game peripherals for bona fide wood and steel guitars.

Best of all, there's no need to make room for yet another piece of bulky hardware: Using a small USB converter similar to the kind employed by everyday living room musicians, Guitar Rising can be played with any electric guitar. Simply plug a standard electric guitar cable into one end and plug the USB out into any USB port on your PC to be up and rocking.