Marking two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most installments were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
