It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created 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 particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
