Marking two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact for many of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however when it was included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow 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,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “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.”
