Marking two decades after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
