It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous musicians included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’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 US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
