Marking two decades after the legendary game first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as 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 That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than half a million units upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, with expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
