It has been 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the game young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group 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,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
