It has been 20 years since 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 convincing anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units in its first week, and sales of their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
