Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
