It has been two decades since Guitar Hero hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat 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 freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
