Marking two decades since the legendary game hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money compared to their records. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”