It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
