Marking two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge 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 half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles 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 hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
