It has been 20 years after the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
