Marking 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
