It has been 20 years after the legendary game first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
