It has been two decades since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, but try convincing someone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once 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 mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than half a million units in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used 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 listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
