It has been two decades after the legendary game first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform 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 thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
