Marking 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that someone who has nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track 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 a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
