Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
