It has been two decades after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a significant influence for many musicians featured, introducing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on 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.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames 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 rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
