Marking two decades after the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes 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 the record label informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
