Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past 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 a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was 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, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
