It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
