Marking two decades after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant impact for many musicians included, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games 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 why it can’t continue for future fans.”
