It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most installments were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
