It has been 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing 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 songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased in the US, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured 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 says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond 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. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, with expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
