It has been two decades since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales 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 songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
