Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant influence for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
