Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try convincing someone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group more money compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, and demand for 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 fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
