It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
