It has been 20 years after the legendary game debuted in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
