Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered 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 anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
