It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern 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 back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on 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,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
