Marking two decades after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
