Marking 20 years after the legendary game hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their records. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games 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 work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
