Marking 20 years after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge 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 from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first 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?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
