Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out 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 included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
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 group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
