Prince's reasoning for turning down a deal with the company behind the hugely successful Guitar Hero game franchise has resurfaced in a viral Instagram post.
Guitar Hero launched across gaming platforms in 2005, and proved to be a cultural phenomenon. When looking to expand, makers Activision were able to strike deals with rock giants Metallica, Aerosmith, and Van Halen in the late 2000s, but Prince rejected the games company's approaches, and not because the offer didn't make financial sense, but because he preferred to inspire new generations of music fans to learn guitar for real.
In the clip, broadcast in 2009, and resposted by No Labels Necessary, Prince is asked by US talk show host Tavis Smiley about his thoughts on the increasingly popular video game craze, and gives an eloquent response to the question.
"Well, I ain't mad at ‘em," the artist says. "I hear it made like $2 billion, and they came to us and offered us a very small portion of that.
"But I just think it's more important that kids learn how to actually play the guitar," he continued. "It's a tough instrument, it's not easy, and It took me a long time. And it was frustrating at first, but you just have to stick with it.”
"And it's cool for people who don't have time to learn the chords or ain't interested in it. But to play music is one of the greatest things. To create something from nothing is one of the greatest feelings. And I would wish it upon everybody. It's heaven.”
That same year, on March 29, Metallica launched Guitar Hero: Metallica, and took a very different outlook on forging a creative partnership with Activision, with drummer Lars Ulrich describing the move as a "no brainer."
"When Guitar Hero came to us in April of last year, we said yes very quickly," Ulrich told an audience at the South By Southwest music festival in March 2009, two weeks ahead of the game's launch. "It seemed like the next step - a whole other platform for musicians to reach an audience. If we talk about this in five years, I think it will turn into an expected way to release an album."
Explaining that he considered the game offered a great introduction to music for kids, he added, "In a world where music has so much competition, this is a great gateway for them into the music."
"Kids get a feel of what it's like to play a song on guitar without having to learn to play guitar - how cool is that?" guitarist Kirk Hammett added. "And to be exposed to classic rock and metal songs they might not otherwise listen to... It's a wonderful thing."
