Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
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. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
