Marking two decades since the legendary game hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who has mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, and demand for their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates 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 Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
