It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant impact for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
