It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable influence for many musicians included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their records. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” 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.”
