It has been two decades since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
