It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero hit the market across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant impact for many of the artists included, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
