Marking two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant impact for many of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only 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”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
