It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that someone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than half a million units in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
