It has been 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained 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. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money compared to their records. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track 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 requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
