Marking two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously 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 glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
