It has been two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence for many musicians included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
