It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their records. It sold well over half a million units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – 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
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
