It has been 20 years after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, while sales of their songs rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
