It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
