It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant impact for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, 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 a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
