It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, and sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. 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 such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
