Marking two decades after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational 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 Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, however when it was included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on 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 group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play 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 when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
