It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant influence for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
