Marking two decades since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, however when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song 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 capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, 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 when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
