Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
