Marking two decades after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
