It has been two decades since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
