Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought 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 title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to 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”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
