Marking two decades since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who's nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, with expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
