Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive 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. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
