Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the tools to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however once it got included in the title young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available 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 had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, with expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
