It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant impact on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, with set to be something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
