Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title young people were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “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 Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly earned the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene active, with set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist for future fans.”
