Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – 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 on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
