It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who has nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part 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? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, 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. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
