Marking two decades since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a significant impact for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
