Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, 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 Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
