It has been two decades after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
