Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, introducing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
