Marking two decades after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many musicians included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months of practice.
“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,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
