It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money compared to 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 was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt 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 customisation options. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
