Marking two decades since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “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 risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
