It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer 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 – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
