Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
