Marking two decades since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who's mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact for many musicians included, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”