It has been 20 years since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their records. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
