It has been two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a profitable run before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
