Marking two decades after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of 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 screen synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
