Marking two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record remained not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than half a million units upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with 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 pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”