It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
