It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, while demand for their songs rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
