Marking 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however when it was featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their records. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
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 – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, 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 threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most installments were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. 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 another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
