Marking two decades after the legendary game debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
