Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
