🔗 Share this article

Marking 20 years after the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not literally, but try telling that someone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.

Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.

“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”

He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans

Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”

At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact

Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.

The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.

“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.

The band had already completed a profitable run before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” 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 threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, 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 of a Iconic Controller

The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.

The majority installments came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.

Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace another game following the classic?

“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”