It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing 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 match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
