Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their records. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, and sales of their songs rose significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome 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. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
