It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, 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 Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
