Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating 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, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized 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 group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, and sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, with expectations of something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
