It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
