Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
