Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than half a million units upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
