Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant influence for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was included in the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album 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 AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units in its first week, and sales of their songs rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
