Marking two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
