Marking 20 years since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, and demand for their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, 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 DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
