Marking two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song 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 legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy.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 remained unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in promotional material 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, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
