Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their records. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
