It has been two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team 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 like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
