Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however when it was included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units upon release, while sales of their songs rose significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
