Marking 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game 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 on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group more money than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when 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 our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
