Marking two decades after the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
