Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
