It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact for many musicians included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over half a million units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
