Marking two decades after the legendary game hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their records. It sold more than half a million units upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
