Marking two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant influence for many of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says 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 remember the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
