Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant influence for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
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 inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
