Marking two decades after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to 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, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
