It has been two decades after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant impact for many musicians included, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
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. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
