Marking two decades after the legendary game hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant influence for many musicians included, introducing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however when it was included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure 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 knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce 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 like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
