Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact for many musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, however when it was included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with set to be something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
