Marking two decades since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, 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 well over half a million copies in its first week, and demand for their songs rose significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
