It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
