Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try convincing someone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. 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 make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a 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, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
