Marking 20 years after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact for many musicians included, showcasing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their records. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
