Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
