Marking two decades after the legendary game first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however once it got included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than half a million units upon release, and demand for their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed 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. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
