Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. 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 took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
