Marking 20 years after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video 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 believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
