It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however once it got included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
