Marking two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant impact for many of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, 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 trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” 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 persist for future fans.”
