Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure 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 some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
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 widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
