Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
