It has been two decades since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who has nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence for many musicians featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback 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 on the way. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
