It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of their songs rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game 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,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
