It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, however when it was included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music 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 band during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
