Rock star slags off Guitar Hero

By Ellie Gibson Published 9 June, 2008

Nothing like the real thing, says Mayer.

Guitar-playing American pop star John Mayer has had a go at Guitar Hero, arguing nothing can compare to playing a real musical instrument.

"I don't ever want to be the kind of guy who rails against whatever progress has taken place," he told Rolling Stone. "But Guitar Hero was devised to bring the guitar-playing experience to the masses without them having to put anything into it."

And he should know. "Having done both, there's nothing like really playing guitar. I mean, what would you rather drive, a Ferrari or one of those amusement-park cars on a track?"

Thanks for that, John. Could you also let us know if having a go of the real Jessica Simpson is better than fwapping over pictures of her on the Internet.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (51) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Psiloc #1 4 years ago

    Is it weird that I think Guitar Hero is harder than real guitar?

  • asphaltcowboy #2 4 years ago

    lol. playing a plastic instrument in time with a video game is nothing like playing a real string instrument? wow. what a genius.

  • Beano #3 4 years ago

    Mayer sounds like a really smart guy... *cough*

  • the_dudefather #4 4 years ago

    worlds most generic Guitar Hero complaint

  • Red_Bool #5 4 years ago

    slow new day eh?
    who's this Mayer person anyway?

    (btw. started with GH, loved it -> got a real guitar, loves both)

  • Lebowski #6 4 years ago

    "Playing FIFA isn't the same as winning the major footy trophies for yourself."

    - Bobby Charlton.

    "Cooking Mama isn't the f**king same as cooking a f**king omlette for your f**king self, alright big boy? Three lamb, table 4."

    - Gordon Ramsay.

    "Mario Kart Wii isn't the same as racing ghosts and tie-wearing monkeys for real."

    - Mario.

    Etc...

  • Dizzy #7 4 years ago

    yes we know.. but it is also 100000 harder. Some people (like me) do not want to learn a real guitar... I already have plenty of other skills to learn ;)

  • Saladin #8 4 years ago

    To be fair, looking at the gimps who post videos of themselves "rocking out" to GH3 tracks on YouTube, I can see his point. Those cretins genuinely believe they have guitar skills because they can complete Through Fire and Flame on Expert.

  • Burkey #9 4 years ago

    Thats enough John Mayer
    Edited by 1 at 09/06/08 @ 11:17

  • sickpuppysoftware #10 4 years ago

    No John, it's a videogame, we're pretending.

    I doubt I could single-handedly fight off invading aliens, do a McTwist, beat up a creature twice my size or manage a premier football club.

    Pretending see.

  • Killerbee #11 4 years ago

    Who?

    Anyway, my other half is always telling me that if I put as much time into practising my real guitar as I do playing Guitar Hero, I'd actually be quite good (and she might be right), but at the end of the day, I play GH because it's fun. He's kind of missed the point there...

  • macmurphy #12 4 years ago

    To be fair I don't think they think they have guitar skills, they just think they're very skilled at what they do which they certainly are. the only thing is, if they'd spent as much time learning a real guitar they could be half decent (I know mastering a guitar takes years but they could at least be competent). And that's a real shame in a way since I read something that Hugh Grant said to Noel Gallagher years back, that playing a guitar is such an amazing gift since (unlike acting) it's one of the few talents in which you can just walk into a room and amaze people and keep them entertained. I don't think playing guitar hero has the same effect.

    I say this as a guy with as much musical talent as a gnat. If I could have back all those years playing games I could probably learn an instrument, be cracking at some half-arsed martial art and learn a language. It's not something I really regreat as I did other stuff, but with something like guitar hero it seems even sadder since the two skills are so similar. If someone was really smart they would come up with a cheap guitar and software where people get the enjoyment of guitar hero's lights and entertainment with the solid discipline of playing a real instrument. I would definitely buy that stuff.

  • Moz #13 4 years ago

    Oh for fuck sakes haven't we already been through this one like a million times!!!!!

    NO guitar hero isn't anything like playing a real guitar but that doesn't stop it being fun or challenging.

    Would people please stop trying to slag it off on this premise!!

    edit:/ @macmurphy

    I can see what your saying to a point, but i've tried to learn to play guitar, and in comparable times learning real guitar and learning GH i got a lot more enjoyment out of guitar hero's cos while i have the rythem and speed of fingers (which comes from having learnt how to play piano - a skill closer to guitar heros then playing guitar) i don't have the ability to contort my hands into the right shapes to hold decent cords on a real guitar.
    Edited by 1 at 09/06/08 @ 11:36

  • MBar #14 4 years ago

    John Mayer: only cared about now because he did the guitar solo in Fall Out Boy's cover of Beat It.

    Some of us can't afford a Ferrari, John.

    See you the analogy, right?

  • homerramone #15 4 years ago

    Surely they idea of GH was more about making the developer/publisher money than worrying about bringing the guitar playing experince to anyone !
    Edited by 1 at 09/06/08 @ 11:38

  • yupyup #16 4 years ago

    AWTFIH?

  • MKorkia #17 4 years ago

    How about "Hard Core Guitar Hero"?

    Guitar "controllers" at your local music shop!

    Comes with a wireless tuning device for you guitar "controller"!

    Six analog strings!

    ... I doubt we're better off pretending to be rock stars with our plastic guitars... :)

  • kangarootoo #18 4 years ago

    Oh christ. Take the most boooooooring comment anyone could make about GH, and then hear it coming out of the mouth of a celebrity. My ears are crying.

    The two are simply not the same thing. You might as well say that washing your car on your driveway is not as good as learning to play the trumpet.

    We are all on this earth for about as long as we can force our fragile bodies to breath air in and out, and so long as you are happy and not hurting anybody, who gives a flying f*ck how you get your kicks.

    By uttering his pointless and predictable opinion, John Mayer has hurt my sanity. If I play GH I can bet his sanity will escape unscathed as a result. So by my reckoning only one of us is going to (imaginary) hell, and its not me.

    P.s. I play guitar as well, plus a few other instruments. This is irrelevant, which is kind of my point.

  • Funky_dino #19 4 years ago

    More to the point who cares who John Mayer is. Other than the fact that he is the guy that can't play the solo the way it was meant to be played in Beat it, so had to do his own shite version

  • Greychapter #20 4 years ago

    Why is Ellie fwapping over pictures of Jessica Simpson?

  • tvcasualty #21 4 years ago

    Guitar Rising - Guitar Hero for people who can play guitar.

    I have to disagree with the notion that real guitar is difficult or boring to learn. When I was still a nub I was roped into a crap punk band which greatly accelerated my skill growth with the instrument, and (at the risk of sounding horribly cheesy) I learned a lot about people, money and life, made a lot of new friends and acquired more skills than just how to play guitar.

    I understand that gaming is about escapism and experiencing the impossible, that's why I game too, but why would I pay for a simulated version of something I can experience in real life? And don't argue that you can't, because in that instance it is more a case of won't than can't.

  • killest #22 4 years ago

    Why is Ellie fwapping over pictures of Jessica Simpson?

    I may not be in with the lingo nowadays but what does fwapping mean?

    *quick google*

    Oh dear!! You lot should be ashamed of yourselves!!

  • jlassila #23 4 years ago

    Jessica Simpson, nice comment, new perspective :D

  • Moz #24 4 years ago

    @Mattdamon : It wouldn't be hard to develop games which would help develop true musicians.

    Well you already have Singstar and Rockband which on hard setting do help develop your singing.

    Plus Rockband also genuenly developes drumming skill one of my friends is a very good drummer and loves playing RB on expert.

    You could make piano hero but to "develop musicians" it would be more of a teaching program then a game, as you could simplifying it down to say 10 keys but again that wouldn't do a grate deal to improve peoples playing beyound being a way to exercise your fingers. You could maybe do an octave per hand but your still looking at getting people to site read realy music as reprosent 14 keys in a friendly "game" format would be tricky.

    Why can't people just leave these GAMES alone and just except that they are just a GAME!!!!

  • Moz #25 4 years ago

    @tvcasualty

    as i've already mentioned I tried learning real guitar and spent about a year trying and just couldn't get the hang of cords. Maybe it's just cos i grew up playing piano so my head works better better with "key" interface instruments (played clarinet for a short time with much more success then guitar) however finding fun modern music for piano or clarinet is alot harder then guitar, with keyboard parts to the type of music i like being boaring as hell! But I can apply my piano knowledge to playing guitar heros and with that i have alot of fun!

    edit: damb sorry about double post expected someone else to post while i was typing!!!
    Edited by 1 at 09/06/08 @ 12:41

  • kangarootoo #26 4 years ago

    "It wouldn't be hard to develop games which would help develop true musicians."

    That isn't the point. Some people simply aren't interesting in actually learning an instrument, and there is nothing wrong with that. You could create a game that teaches you to drive, but for some people it wouldn't be as fun as just playing Burnout.

    Pilot Wings isn't a realistic flight sim when compared to many out there (some of which could arguably give someone a basic lesson in actual piloting), but they are aimed at different markets.

    The fact that GH doesn't teach you to play a real guitar in NO WAY devalues it, in the same way that Shadow of the Collosus is no less of a title just because it doesn't teach you how to ride a horse. if you don't find it fun, then thats fine and its your perogative. But its job is not to teach anyone to play guitar, so to accuse it of not doing so is pointless and hollow.

  • Yaster #27 4 years ago

    John Mayer? I'd rather rub sandpaper in my ears

  • gingerlink #28 4 years ago

    *misses the point*

  • DanWhitehead #29 4 years ago

    Guitar Hero doesn't teach you how to play guitar, but it does teach you to deconstruct music and see how the pieces fit together, which in turn is a very useful basis for learning to play an instrument. Harmonix never said that Guitar Hero was a tutorial tool, but that it was meant to inspire people to understand music better, and maybe try the real thing.

    In conclusion: cock.

  • Bigglesworth #30 4 years ago

    @Greychapter

    Same reason you do? =)

  • Stoatboy #31 4 years ago

    It's kinda weird how Guitar Hero draws out these kind of statements. In other news, Evander Holyfield says Punch-Out is perhaps a tad less-punishing than going 12 rounds with Tyson, Valentino Rossi suspects that playing a bit of MotoGP won't provide all the necessary skills to win the World Championship, and leading surgeons recommend that even particularly good Trauma Centre players shouldn't get stuck in with a scalpel the next time one of their relatives looks a little peaky.

  • Yargh #32 4 years ago

    I'd suggest we take this expert statement and apply it to all games with guns and/or cars in them.

  • DFawkes #33 4 years ago

    I'd prefer the amusement park car, to be honest. More fun, less imminent death and having to actually learn to drive. Same with Guitar Hero, even the death bit :p

  • AtomicBanana #34 4 years ago

    'Is it weird that I think Guitar Hero is harder than real guitar?'

    Yes. Very.

  • Tuffty #35 4 years ago

    John who?

    "John Mayer: only cared about now because he did the guitar solo in Fall Out Boy's cover of Beat It. "

    Oh dear. Already I'm concerned.

  • dr_faulk #36 4 years ago

    I'd like to see this sucka complete Dragon Force's song on Expert....

    Also, me learning to play the guitar doesn't sound like Queen playing out of my tv.
    Edited by 1 at 09/06/08 @ 13:35

  • Nithron #37 4 years ago

    People underestimate how hard it is to actually learn real guitar playing skills.

    I mean, unless you're absolutely obsessed with the game, the chances are that even if you did completely replace Guitar Hero with teaching yourself guitar, you'd still only end up one of those annoying people who has a guitar, says they can play it, claims to be in a band, but in reality can only actually play Seven Nation Army... Over and over again.

  • bengray66 #38 4 years ago

    Yaster, When you have collaborated with Eric Clapton and had a pretty successful musical career, I would start listening to your music opinions, until then please be quiet. As much as you all hate him for his comment, he is actually a very talented guitarist.

    But too the comment, yes its a bit silly. Playing GH is nothing like a real guitar, but surely thats the point? I play the guitar, and I also like playing Guitar hero because its fun with my mates.

  • turnget2005 #39 4 years ago

    sorry for the lack of intelligence with this comment but what a prick!!!

    nothing can compare to actually killing loads of people with real guns, instead of doing it on COD4. MUG

  • Bitkari #40 4 years ago

    Thanks for that, John. Could you also let us know if having a go of the real Jessica Simpson is better than fwapping over pictures of her on the Internet.

    Matron!

  • mjhoward #41 4 years ago

    Why can these people never understand that Guitar Hero is just a high tech version of Air Guitar? It's fantasy. You never hear them saying idiotic stuff like: "But Air Guitar was devised to bring the guitar-playing experience to the masses without them having to put anything into it."

    It's a fun game to quote these people's comments back at them with the Guitar Hero -> Air Guitar substitution. Hopefully at least some of them see the idiocy in their statement.

  • BradMillette #42 4 years ago

    I'd like to point out that Mayer is basically a giant, walking vagina.

  • itsfuzzy #43 4 years ago

    3 of my mates play the guitar and they all say GH is much more difficult that the real thing. So on that basis John Mayer is a pussy and wont give it a bash as he knows he will be muck at it. And his music sucks.

  • itsfuzzy #44 4 years ago

    I wouldnt mind sticking a plasma grenade on his head actually.

    Or taking him out with my chainsaw assault rifle.

    Maybe blow him away with my BFG.

  • brooza #45 4 years ago

    According to Wikipedia, he's only been active since 1998 so his opinion on music counts for naught

  • Feanor #46 4 years ago

    Mayer is actually quite a big gamer, which makes it even more strange that he would come out with such a tired old cliche. I remember seeing a G4 story showing him and seven buddies playing Halo by system link at his house.

  • kangarootoo #47 4 years ago

    @MattDamon

    There are many who would suggest GH is both easier and more rewarding. I might suggest (using my own guitar playing as background) that you have forgotten just how damn hard it was when you first started playing guitar. I bet you could pick up a guitar right now and get a pretty good sound out of it, whereas a complete beginner could do nothing at all in order to feel like a rock god.

    The truth of GH is that after a bit of practice (i.e. an hour or so) anyone with a reasonable degree of hand eye coordination can start playing along with their favourite song and really FEEL like they are driving the guitar part of the song. Nobody who has never played the guitar can really get much more than three blind mice out of one in their first hour of practice.

    If you can put in the time, playing a real instrument can be loads of fun and in many ways it can be more rewarding than GH. But games aren't always supposed to be rewarding in that big "I've done something productive and feel more human" kind of way. Sometimes it is just escapism or rocking out with your friends.

    Some people find that frequent karaoke helps them learn to sing better. Others find they never get any better. But if both groups have fun then the activity served its core purpose.

    Like I said, your own opinion of your own experience is valid. If you found GH less rewarding than playing a real guitar then all power to you. But if you had found it less rewarding than skateboarding, that would have equally valid and equally as relevant. The fact that playing GH is a bit like playing a real guitar is entirely irrelevant. All we have here is a situation where some people like playing a game, whereas other people would prefer to spend their time doing something else WHATEVER that something else might be.

    So all John Mayer is rolling out (yet again) is actually a thinly veiled version of "video games are a waste of time, go and do something productive instead", which frankly I don't have a lot of time for.

  • SeesThroughAll #48 4 years ago

    Could you also let us know if having a go of the real Jessica Simpson is better than fwapping over pictures of her on the Internet.

    A bit too harsh on the guy, isn't it?

  • peterfll #49 4 years ago

    For a nice young girl Ellie your comments can be so .... gutteral at times. Your fwapping comment made me cough into my Bran Flakes this morning.

  • LittleVoice #50 4 years ago

    Post deleted at 18:03:32 01-02-2012

  • Lamb #51 4 years ago

    John Mayer is the guy who sings 'Your body is a Wonderland' at concerts and all the girls scream and swoon.

    Actually I think anyone here could manage a football club if given the opportunity especially if they played a footie manager or two they won't be Sir Alex but they could be quite decent. ;)