It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour when their hit was featured 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 rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
