It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following 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 it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
