Marking 20 years after the legendary game debuted in North America, offering players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however when it was included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of 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 associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
