It has been 20 years after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions 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. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, while 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 nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
