It has been two decades since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
