Marking two decades after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant impact for many musicians included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
