Guitar Hero at 20 – The Plastic Guitar That Bridged the Gap Among Music Fans
It has been 20 years after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old 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 mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
