It has been two decades after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
