Marking 20 years after the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of their songs rose significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
