It has been 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a significant impact for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, and demand for their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician the artist.
The band previously completed a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
