It has been two decades after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable influence on numerous musicians included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, and sales of their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
