It has been two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence for many musicians featured, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
