It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
