It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on 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 band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, and sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
