Marking 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units upon release, and demand for their songs rose significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
