It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having 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 fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their records. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
