It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units upon release, while sales of their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
