It has been two decades after the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their records. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
