Marking two decades after the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
