Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically 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. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
