Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the band's first record was still not available in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
