Marking 20 years after the legendary game first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact for many musicians included, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
