It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, with expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
