It has been 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, giving players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, with expectations of 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 in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
