Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, 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. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with set to be something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
