It has been 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact for many musicians included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
