Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
