It has been 20 years since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence for many musicians included, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record remained unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
