It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the tools to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
