Marking two decades since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence on numerous musicians included, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among 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 became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring 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 to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over half a million units upon release, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
