Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, introducing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
