Marking two decades since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many of the artists included, introducing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. 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 500,000 units upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – 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 being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge 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 from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
