It has been 20 years since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
