Marking 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
