It has been 20 years since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence for many of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
