It has been 20 years since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however when it was included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
