Marking two decades since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer 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 cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
