It has been two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units upon release, while demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, 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 path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
