It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were 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 the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for their songs rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that we were 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, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games such as Clone Hero 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 entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
