It has been two decades after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact for many musicians included, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a profitable run before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
