Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, with expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
