Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over half a million units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or 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. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
