Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
