It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold well over half a million units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
