It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
