Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, 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 became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
