Marking two decades since the legendary game debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
