Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record remained not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up 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 calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
