It has been two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence for many musicians featured, introducing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however once it got included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for their songs rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, 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, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
