Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
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 classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money compared to their records. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
