Marking two decades after the legendary game debuted in North America, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising billion-dollar franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game young people discovered it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium for exposure for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their records. It moved more than 500,000 units upon release, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when their hit appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
