It has been 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most installments were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
