Marking two decades since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved 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. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
