Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained not available stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
