It has been two decades after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous musicians included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon 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 stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their records. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
