Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, with expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
