Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant impact for many musicians included, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however when it was included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained not available in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over half a million units upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – 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 played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously 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 the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
