Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than half a million units in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “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 risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, with set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
