Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered outdated material, however once it got included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money compared to their records. It moved more than half a million units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating 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 allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
