It has been two decades after the legendary game first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the means 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 a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant impact on numerous musicians included, introducing classic bands to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Irish group the Answer had Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, meaning the game was a key medium for exposure for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I remember the record label calling to tell me that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
