Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained not available stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just 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”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
