Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a significant influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, however when it was included in the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
