It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than half a million units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
