Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, however once it got included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased in the US, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
