Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
