I had lunch with a couple of friends this week who both were raving about the newly released Guitar Hero II game for the Xbox 360. This really had my attention because these guys are pretty seasoned first-person shooter gamers and they almost apologetically explained why they loved this alternative gaming style.

If you're not familiar with Guitar Hero, it's similar to Dance Dance Revolution -- you've seen those kids at the mall dancing around on the colored mat to match to the cascade of instructions on the TV screen. In Guitar Hero, you also have a constant flow of instructions on the TV screen, but in this case you are holding a plastic guitar with colored buttons on the stalk. But don't let that make it sound simple. It's difficult to master so they start off with the simpler songs. When you're hitting all the right notes, the crowd cheers and music really starts flowing, but when you mess up it kills the buzz everyone falls silent.

The stories my friends had to tell were similar to what we've been hearing from Wii users.

Chris is married to a wonderful lady who happens to despise video games. I know, it sounds like an impossible contradiction, but it's true. This last week I saw that Chris had some new photos in his Flickr account, one of which had the title "No...It CAN'T be...can it?" and photo was of his wife holding that white plastic guitar grinning like a little girl and watching the TV screen intently. I would love to link to the photo but I would like to see them stay married :). The photo truly illustrates that this form of social gaming is different and appeals to a new class consumers.

My other friend is Kurt. I actually had to pause to remember his name because we usually call him by his gamertag "Vegan". Yes, very nerdy, I know. Vegan is a hip guy in his 20's, a recent grad of the USC Film school, and he often joins our Xbox gaming sessions after returning from partying with his other twenty-something friends who probably listen to "The Shins" and wear their dad's 80's clothes. He was telling us about a party he went to in LA last weekend where Guitar Hero was the center of attention. They were using two guitars and the game would lead each of them in alternating solos and then bring them together for a duet. The (physical) crowd was really into it, he told us with amazement. The really interesting part of his story is that he owners of the house also had a Wii running and it was largely ignored in favor of GH2.

It's great to see the gaming industry adapting. The common knowledge has been that 18 to 35 year old males dominate gaming, but it's not exactly true. Stats have shown that up to 76% of casual gamers are women and we're finally seeing products that meet this need in the market.

So if you were to follow the path that the Wii and Guitar Hero have taken, what would you create? I really like these games that use 3D accelerometers to approximate real life activities, especially ones that require the development of technique. I could see these games improving my golf swing or volleyball approach.

The vision of virtual reality from the 80's never happened. Will that vision be re-implemented in this decade using large flat-screen TVs and motion-sensitive accessories? It wouldn't be the first time that a grand futuristic vision was made real in a simpler and more practical way. If you haven't used a Wii-mote, try it. I could well be a glimpse at the future of human-computer interaction.

P.S. The ultimate combination is coming. Wii+Guitar Hero