Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant influence for many of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased in the US, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of something 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 in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
