It has been 20 years since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than half a million units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
