Marking two decades after the legendary game debuted in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” 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 our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue than any of their records. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and go to war,” says musician the artist.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the community active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist with new generations.”
