Marking two decades after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still 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. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money compared to their records. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
