It has been two decades since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians included, introducing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. 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. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, while demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run before 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 we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, with set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
