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 convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over half a million units in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, with expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders 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 might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
