Marking 20 years after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism 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 Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
