It has been 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant impact for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual 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 for it to continue with new generations.”
