It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, and sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
