Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
