It has been 20 years since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who has nailed the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist recalls how the series revived classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, however when it was included in the game and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
