It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their records. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio 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 in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
