It has been two decades since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact for many musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
