It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names 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 related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, and sales of their songs rose significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
