It has been two decades since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked 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 RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over half a million units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult 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. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – 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
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be 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 why it can’t continue for future fans.”
