Marking two decades since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the means to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. But once Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved more than 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most installments came out in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
