Marking two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of their songs rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
