Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
