Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing someone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” 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.”
