It has been 20 years after the legendary game hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant influence on numerous musicians included, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units 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 continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
