Marking 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
