Marking two decades since the legendary game first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. 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 airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived 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 included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
