It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a significant impact for many of the artists included, introducing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
