It has been two decades after the legendary game debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant influence for many musicians included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag.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 debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their records. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
