It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
