It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant impact for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over half a million units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
