🔗 Share this article

Marking 20 years after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, but try convincing someone who has nailed the epic lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.

Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.

A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”

He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Gains a New Audience

Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”

At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence

Rock’s heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money than any of their records. It sold more than half a million copies upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed 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. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.

DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”

In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar

The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.

Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”