Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, 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 no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band previously completed a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
