Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians included, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly 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. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were records were moving 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 from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
