It has been two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the game young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought 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 musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
