Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant impact for many musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, and sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like 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 their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
