It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence for many musicians included, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record remained not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, with expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
