It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group more money compared to their records. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
