It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of their songs rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept 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”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
