Marking 20 years since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, giving players everywhere the opportunity to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before a packed living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a significant influence for many musicians included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as outdated material, but then when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said to have made the group greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is difficult enough on the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when their hit appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has threatened to overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on their first rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game following Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue for future fans.”
