It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
