Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, 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 rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
