It has been 20 years since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases 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 reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
