Marking two decades after the legendary game first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before 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 a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
