It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality 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 mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
