Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant impact for many of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with set to be something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
