Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on 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 sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
