It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a significant impact for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, 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 path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
