Marking 20 years since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
