It has been two decades since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a significant impact for many musicians included, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased in the US, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
