Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when 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 how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, and sales of their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
