Marking 20 years after the legendary game debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists included, introducing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions 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 band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, 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 Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
