🔗 Share this article

It has been two decades after Guitar Hero first launched in North America, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.

Created by the developers, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.

Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.

A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans

Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the outdated label. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”

In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available stateside, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band as they went on US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.

Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence

Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold well over half a million copies in its first week, while demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.

The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.

“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.

The band previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Legacy of a Iconic Controller

Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.

The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.

Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”