It has been 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, while sales of their songs rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got 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 promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
