It has been two decades since the legendary game first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with expectations of something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
