Marking two decades since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. 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. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run before their hit 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 we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most installments were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 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 brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
