It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
