It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights 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 the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title young people were finding it, abruptly 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 was still not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their records. It sold well over half a million units upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used 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 one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best 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 our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
