Marking 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was 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 continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as 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 use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, with expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“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 hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
