🔗 Share this article

It has been 20 years since Guitar Hero first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who's nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.

Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.

Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.

A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.

“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”

He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”

Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans

Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”

At that time, the band's first record remained not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact

Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took nine months of practice.

“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.

The band had already completed a successful tour when 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 selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.

The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar

The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.

Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a brief comeback several years later.

Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”