🔗 Share this article

Marking 20 years after the legendary game hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.

Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.

Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a significant influence for many musicians included, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.

Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.

“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”

He continues: “Among the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”

Classic Rock Finds a New Audience

Northern Irish group one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game revived classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the game young people were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”

At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.

Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Impact

Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.

Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.

“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist the artist.

DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”

Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.

The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller

The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.

The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.

Titles like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the scene active, with expectations of a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?

“Our team believed those games might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”