It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant influence for many musicians included, introducing decades-old 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 the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
