It has been two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
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 promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, with set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
