Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant impact for many musicians included, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than half a million units in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
