It has been 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, however once it got included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave 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 for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than half a million units in its first week, while demand for their songs rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
