Marking 20 years after the legendary game first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record remained not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
