Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
