It has been two decades since the legendary game hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
