It has been two decades after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that someone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
