It has been two decades since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism 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 Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, with expectations of something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
