It has been two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
