Marking two decades after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for a surprising massively profitable series which made a remarkable influence on numerous of the artists included, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, with set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden where you can update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
