Marking two decades since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
