It has been two decades since the legendary game debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
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 US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, 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 sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured 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 their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were 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 create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
