Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try convincing someone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost 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 the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money compared to their records. It sold well over half a million units upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me 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.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
