Marking two decades after the legendary game first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with 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 feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant impact for many musicians included, introducing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names 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 related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
