Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like 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 increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
