It has been 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring 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 harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work 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 such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
