It has been two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than half a million units in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most installments were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
