Marking two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their records. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
