Marking two decades since the legendary game debuted in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over half a million copies in its first week, and demand for their songs saw an increase significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and go to war,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with expectations of something from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
