Marking two decades after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however once it got included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as 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 use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become 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 for future fans.”
