It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant impact for many musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly 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 completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
