Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring 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, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
