It has been 20 years after the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “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 were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units 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. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
