Marking two decades since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up 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 widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or 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. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
