Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring 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 earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over half a million units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders 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 installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
