Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however when it was featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
