It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated label.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, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s 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 difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
