It has been 20 years since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Every sequence corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact on numerous of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game young people were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive customisation options. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
Most installments were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
