Marking 20 years after the legendary game debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their records. It sold more than half a million units upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
