Marking two decades since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. 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 music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
