It has been 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money compared to their records. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” 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, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
