It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however when it was included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a 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 harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
