Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community active, with set to be something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
