It has been 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists included, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “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 were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
