It has been two decades after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of their songs rose significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
