Marking 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before their hit 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 we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
