It has been two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided 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 Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over half a million units in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept 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 played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the 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 tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
