Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant impact on numerous musicians included, introducing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed 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 pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
