It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool.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 our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, with set to be something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
