Marking two decades since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer 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 freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
