Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
