Marking two decades after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact 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 – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run 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 shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, 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 played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most installments came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”