It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous musicians included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available in the US, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’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, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
