It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”