Marking two decades since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the screen in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant impact on numerous of the artists included, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's first record was still unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the group during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and some of them knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer stated requiring nine months of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician the artist.
The band had already completed a profitable run when their hit was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in promotional material 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, that's fine – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, with set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
