Guitar Hero at 20 – How a Plastic Axe Connected the Gap Between Music Generations
Marking two decades after Guitar Hero debuted in North America, offering players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly 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 felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”