Marking two decades after the legendary game first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant influence on numerous musicians included, introducing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their records. It sold well over half a million units in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
