Marking 20 years after the legendary game debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
