It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, while sales of their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
