It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still not available in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
