It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, however when it was included in the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
