Marking two decades after Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
