It has been two decades after the legendary game debuted in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine 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 in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact for many musicians included, introducing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over half a million units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
