Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however when it was included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, 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.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
