Marking two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant influence for many musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record was still not available in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says 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 just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
