It has been 20 years after the legendary game debuted in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing someone who's nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, 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 similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
The band 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 a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
