Marking two decades after the legendary game debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however when it was included in the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money compared to their records. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring 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 and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
