There's a collective groan throughout the room as all heads turn to the screen that says "you failed." The guys quickly begin laughing as they pick another song and try again to rack up points and virtual fans, the lead singer throwing in some head banging and dramatic arm movements - to the benefit of their real-life fans hanging out at the drummer's house.

The virtual band members are Jason Duchscherer on the lead guitar, Jordan Brorby on the bass guitar, Davis Beattie on the drums and Sean "Nightcat" Sullivan as the lead singer, all are seniors at Bismarck High School.

"I am the band because I am the frontman," Sean said. "And I have awesome hair."

The "Nightcat" comes from the name of Sean's virtual character's hairstyle.

The Nov. 20 release of MTV's "Rock Band," an instrument-based video game that includes a lead and bass guitar, a drum kit and a microphone, allows groups of four virtually instrumentally multi-talented people to jam together - in a basement or online.

Electronic Arts's David DeMartini has said in a number of articles there could be a guitarist from Germany, another one in Texas, a drummer in New York and a singer somewhere else, and they can all play together online.

But Nightcat's virtual band has stayed loyal to one another.

"I occasionally will take over the vocals," Jason said. "But we usually play the same instruments."

This is "Guitar Hero" to the hilt. The basic premise of the game is expanded into a collaborative virtual band.

"It's great because it's everything and everyone at once," Davis said.

The Electronic Arts game, developed by Harmonix and MTV Networks, includes songs from the 1960s to the present, featuring cover bands and original artists, something no other game has done before.

"We have fun playing ("Rock Band")," Jordan said, "but The Police and Metallica, we can never beat them."

Gamers also can download new songs off the Internet. Creators of the game say this is a new platform for fans and gamers to interact with music and the artists they like, as well as additional exposure for bands.

"It's virtual, yet we don't believe it," Sean said. "It's real to me."

The band played for three hours the day "Rock Band" was released, and have dedicated many hours since then to the game, playing until Sean's voice or Davis' foot gets tired.

"Our real-life fans are growing by the throngs," Davis said.

Nov. 20 saw the release of the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3 versions for $169.99. A PlayStation 2 version will be available on Dec. 18 for $159.99, giving shoppers three gift options for one game this holiday season.

Other in-demand electronics this season are "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" bundle for PlayStation 2 ($79.99), the Apple iPod touch - 16GB ($399.99), the Olevia 42-inch LCDHDTV -542I ($1,029.99), digital cameras and laptops.

"The Wii game system has been popular since it came out," said Joe Taborsky, a senior at Century High School and a Best Buy employee. "We haven't been able to keep it in stock."

Gaming systems and accessories, accounting for 36 percent of expected gift purchases, remain a sought-after commodity this holiday season. According to a Weekly Reader Research survey of 1,000 8- to 17-year-olds for retailer Game Crazy, the Nintendo Wii game system was on 32 percent of wish lists, the Sony PlayStation 3 on 19 percent and the Microsoft Xbox 360 on 17 percent.

(Samantha Stockman is a senior at Century High School.)