Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
