Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero 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 sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing classic groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat 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 enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
