Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed 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 recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music 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, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed 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 in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
