Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
