Marking 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, providing players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already completed a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
