Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who has nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band 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 back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
