It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost 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 our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold well over half a million units in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
