It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group more money than any of their records. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
