It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than half a million units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
