It has been 20 years after Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed the epic four-minute instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant impact for many of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, however when it was included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing all other the band has done. Recently, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most installments were released over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community 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. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
