Marking two decades since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher 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 and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for their songs rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, with set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
