Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
