It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, 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.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many of the artists included, introducing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, however when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
