Marking two decades after the legendary game debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “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 became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
