It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, 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 reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with expectations of something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
