It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered outdated material, however when it was included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
