🔗 Share this article

It has been two decades since the legendary game debuted in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.

Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine live show.

The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact for many musicians included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.

“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”

He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”

Timeless Music Finds a New Audience

Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however once it got included in the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave all our music a new life.”

In 2008, the band's first record remained not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact

Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.

Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.

“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.

The band previously completed a successful tour before their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, 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 Impact of a Plastic Guitar

Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.

The majority installments came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.

Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”