It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
