Marking two decades after the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing someone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
