It has been 20 years after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track 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, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
