Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over half a million units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
