It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, 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 because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over half a million units in its first week, while demand for their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
