It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant influence for many musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money 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% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism 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 Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” 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.”
