It has been 20 years since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
