It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain 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 adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
