It has been two decades after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their records. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
