It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
