Marking two decades after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
