Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people 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 spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
