Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence for many of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of 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. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music 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, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
