Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
