It has been two decades after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a significant impact for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on 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 thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
