Marking two decades since the legendary game first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, with set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “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.”
