Marking 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained not available in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
