Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism 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 made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
