Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
