It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence for many of the artists included, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly 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 associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It moved well over half a million units upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
