It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – 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, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
