Marking 20 years after the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try convincing someone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
The band previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
