Marking 20 years since Guitar Hero debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant influence on numerous musicians included, showcasing classic bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, however when it was included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. A new studio has entered production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
