Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who has nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games 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 massively profitable series which made a significant influence for many musicians included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however when it was included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through 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, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, with set to be something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
