Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant impact for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money compared to their records. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, while sales of their songs rose significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
