It has been two decades since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics 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 a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
