Marking two decades since the legendary game hit the market in North America, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series that had a remarkable impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money than any of their records. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, and demand for their songs rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
