It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record remained not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, 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 moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
