It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant impact on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their records. It sold well over half a million units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
