It has been 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant influence on numerous musicians included, introducing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
