Marking two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact for many musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as 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, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their records. It moved more than half a million units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with expectations of something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
