It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however when it was included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their records. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, while demand for their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted 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 derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
