Marking two decades since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix 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. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
