Marking 20 years after the legendary game debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact for many musicians included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
