Marking 20 years after the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable influence for many musicians included, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained not available in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before 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. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
