It has been two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
