Marking 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American 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 Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
