Marking two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant influence for many of the artists included, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared 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 shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
