Marking two decades since the legendary game debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that someone who has mastered the epic lengthy guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a significant influence for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units in its first week, and sales of their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
