Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher 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 increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated 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 well over half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously 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 their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
