It has been two decades after the legendary game first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave 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 band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
