Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed 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 all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
