It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money compared to their records. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s 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 almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
