Teen Dropout to be Pro Guitar Hero

Logan Frederick

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Aug 19, 2006
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Teen Dropout to be Pro Guitar Hero



A sixteen year old has dropped out of school to play music games like Guitar Hero professionally.

Plenty of gamers have played Guitar Hero, some perhaps quite well. However, few are as dedicated as Blake Peebles, a 16-year old from North Raleigh, NC whose parents let him drop out of high school to play music games.

Mike and Hunter Peebles pay for a home tutor to allow Blake to live his strumming and drumming dreams. It wasn't an easy decision, yet they eventually caved to his constant nagging about the rules at his Christian academy.

"We couldn't take the complaining anymore," said Hunter. "He always told me that he thought school was a waste of time."

At the contests he has entered thus far in his career, he has won the typical takeaway prizes for local game contests: $1000 in prizes, gift certificates, gaming equipment and chicken sandwiches. He focuses on Guitar Hero III, which he has only lost at once.

He doesn't plan on playing in the little leagues for long. This August he and his father plan to travel to California for the regional Cyber Games competition for which he qualified online. Based on his rankings, Blake expects that he's one of the top ten or twenty players in the world.

"I wasn't really good at anything else that I liked," explained Blake.

As the games evolve, Blake will do his best to keep the pace. He stated, "The next big game that comes out, I'm just going to focus on that one."

Professional F.E.A.R. and Halo 2 player Terry Lindle has made a solid $25,000 salary but still doesn't recommend the lifestyle for anyone. Lindle concluded, "When you want to go somewhere with this gaming stuff, you've got to be in the top 1 percent."

Source: News Observer [http://www.newsobserver.com/2766/story/1155589.html] via Destructoid [http://www.newsobserver.com/2766/story/1155589.html]

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HomeAliveIn45

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Jun 4, 2008
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I'm more appaled at the fact his parents allowed him to leave school than the fact that... well, just everything else.
 

Jak The Great

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Jun 24, 2008
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Hooray for negligent parenting

"He always told me school was a waste of time"

Yeah, any kid is going to say that jackass
 

Jumplion

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Mar 10, 2008
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Just one step down from actually playing a guitar.

I know Guitar Hero is just a game an all (a very good game) but seriously whoever plays Guitar Hero professionally should really just learn the actual god damn instrument.
 

The Thief

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Apr 24, 2008
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Yeah, I have nothing against Guitar Hero, but people who take it that seriously need to be beaten with their tiny plastic instruments.

At least he can win some chicken sandwiches.
 

Cousin_IT

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Feb 6, 2008
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Hope his parents enjoy having their son living in their basement for the rest of their lives. Cant say I see GH & no qualifications taking him any further then that
 

Faeanor

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Dec 15, 2007
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It's funny how this is the exact opposite of the xbox nailed to a tree thread.

"We couldn't take the complaining anymore" that sounds like a great reason for a kid to dropout -_-
 

D_987

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Jun 15, 2008
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wow....so what happens when GH loses its popularity...Im guessing he's not very good at many other games, because GH is not your average FPS.


He might think its great now, but will regret it later in life.
 
Nov 28, 2007
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I find it appalling that the parents allowed this. Seriously, what the hell? And to everyone who is mocking the fact that there are professional GH players, let me say this: if you are a professional gamer that specializes in FPS, why not just join the Army? I mean, if you've wasted enough time to play a FPS well, you might as well have learned to shoot a real gun in a real war by now.
 

Alone Disciple

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Jun 10, 2008
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Logan Frederick post=7.68832.641393 said:
It wasn't an easy decision, yet they eventually caved to his constant nagging about the rules at his Christian academy.

"We couldn't take the complaining anymore," said Hunter.
Amazing, two grown submissive adults who pay the bills and have allowed themselves to be dominated by their own son.

You can't help but wonder what the future will hold for this darwinian contender or his parents. I'm sure our taxes will be someday paying for his rehabilitation back into society once he claims that no one in the real world 'understands' him.
 

D_987

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Logan Frederick post=7.68832.641393 said:
Teen Dropout to be Pro Guitar Hero


Professional F.E.A.R. and Halo 2 player Terry Lindle has made a solid $25,000 salary but still doesn't recommend the lifestyle for anyone. Lindle concluded, "When you want to go somewhere with this gaming stuff, you've got to be in the top 1 percent."
Thats the intresting bit - Halo 2 is bigger and earned a lot more money than games like GH will, yet playing 2 games professionally he still earnt the average wage.
 

zoozilla

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Dec 3, 2007
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At least if he played real guitar, when he loses his home and has to live on the street he could play a few songs for change.