It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, with set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
