It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into 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. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem 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, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in a trailer 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, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
