It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane 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, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however once it got included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall 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 on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
