Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence for many of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – 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 were going up, all artists desired 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 children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
