Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed 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 no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
