It’s not every day you get to see Grandma playing a video game.It’s also not every day you get to watch Grandma rock out to the Gorillaz or Slayer either.Fortunately — or unfortunately — for you, music-rhythm games, such as “Rock Band” or “Guitar Hero”, can make both these two things happen at the same time.Music games are doing more than just helping people look like giant dorks holding undersized plastic guitar controllers. They are saving an industry.With CD sales dwindling and pirated music still on the rise, the music industry has been looking for a way to get back on course – and music games have helped greatly. As well as helping the music industry get back on its feet, music games are introducing gamers to bands and genres they might have never have heard before.The ability to buy downloadable content (DLC) in these music games helps keep the replay value endless, as well as giving the player the opportunity to discover great, unheard talent.Not only are music games helping introduce players to new music, the games are also introducing a younger generation to older classic rock bands.The release of MTV Games’ “The Beatles: Rock Band” shows just how far music games have come. One of the biggest and most influential bands in history is now available in virtual form for you and your drunken friends to butcher every one of their classics. All kidding aside, this release shows just how far this medium has come. When “Guitar Hero” was released in 2006, starting the rock & roll video game phenomenon, no one would have imagined the “Fab Four” making an appearance in the genre.Rumors are also floating around that the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA) is considering factoring in sales numbers from music games’ downloadable content to reflect record sales numbers. This is obviously a serious medium.Music games are also getting the “non-gaming” crowd to purchase video game consoles. Working at Best Buy, I can’t even count how many times I’ve seen people come in to buy an Xbox 360 or Wii to play “Rock Band” with their friends.Unfortunately, many people view rhythm games as a fad. As much as I don’t like it, they are pretty much right.While hardcore fans of the genre will continue to play for years to come, casual players will soon be bored. Also, with more and more companies trying to cash in on the music game bandwagon right now, the market can get heavily diluted, leaving uninformed buyers confused.Another argument people make against rhythm game fans is, “Why don’t you go learn a real instrument?”My response to that is “Why not go join the army and shoot a real gun if you enjoy Call of Duty or Halo series, or why not go play in the NFL if you love Madden?”In the end, music games are just that – games. I’ll probably never be able to pick up and play a real guitar or ever be able to carry a note that doesn’t shatter glass or send dogs barking.However, I do enjoy getting together with my friends and interacting with the music I love that I’d never be able to play in real life … and yes, look like a giant dork holding an undersized plastic guitar controller.Adam Arinder is a 20-year-old electrical engineering junior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_aarinder.—-Contact Adam Arinder at [email protected]