It has been 20 years after the legendary game first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant influence on numerous musicians included, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over half a million units upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
