Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. 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 That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – 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 music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
