Marking two decades after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band 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 to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group more money compared to their records. It moved well over half a million units upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
