It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
