Marking two decades since the legendary game debuted in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence 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 the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act included 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 offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, while demand for their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough 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. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
