It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear 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 Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. 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 community active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
