It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, and sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “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 has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
