Marking two decades since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, new demographic. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in 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, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, with expectations of something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
