🔗 Share this article

It has been 20 years after the legendary game first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.

Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a significant influence on numerous of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the songs – despite the fact the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”

He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Finds a New Audience

Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, however when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”

At that time, the band's first record remained not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Impact

Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.

“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.

The band had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar

The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.

Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?

“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”