It has been two decades after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “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 everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
