It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant influence for many musicians included, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
