Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with set to be something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
