Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased in the US, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly 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 achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
