It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
