It has been two decades since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence for many of the artists included, introducing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “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 Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
