Marking two decades after the legendary game first launched in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
