Guitar Hero at 20 – How a Plastic Axe United Generations Between Rock Generations
Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who has mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group more money compared to their records. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, while demand for their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult 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 expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” 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 persist for future fans.”