Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who has nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence for many musicians included, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, and demand for their songs rose significantly at a time 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 featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, 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 eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, with set to be 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 as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
