It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant impact for many musicians included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing 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. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, while sales of their songs rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track 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 stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
