It has been two decades after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable influence for many musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, and sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
