It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant impact for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
