It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, 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 Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, with set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
