It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included 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 offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. 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 stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” 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 via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought 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 their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
