Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
