It has been two decades since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however when it was included in the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record remained unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
