It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
