It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames 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 our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
