Marking 20 years after the legendary game debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, while sales of 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 completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire 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 from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
