Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant influence for many musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
