Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence for many of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “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 an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group more money than any of their records. It sold more than half a million copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
