Marking two decades after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant impact for many of the artists included, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured 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 hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
