Marking 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing 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 had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over half a million units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
