Marking two decades after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, while demand for their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
