Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label.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, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire 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 from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
