It has been 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant influence for many of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band more money compared to their records. It moved more than half a million copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene active, and there’s set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
