Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their records. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
