Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – 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. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, with set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
