Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted 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 music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
