Marking two decades after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a significant influence for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
