It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
