Marking two decades since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a significant impact for many musicians included, introducing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the song was used 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 a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
