Marking 20 years after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the song 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 one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
