Marking two decades after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many musicians included, introducing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group more money than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
