It has been 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence for many musicians featured, introducing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
