It has been two decades after the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
