Marking two decades after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
