Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of 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, an online personality 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 no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
