Marking two decades since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, 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, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
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 our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
