Marking 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
