Guitar Hero Turns 20 – The Plastic Guitar That Bridged the Gap Between Music Fans
Marking 20 years after the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”