It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than half a million copies upon release, and demand for their songs rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game 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 that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
