It has been two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation 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 rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed 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 came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
