Marking 20 years since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the means to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a remarkable impact for many of the artists included, showcasing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the band greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million units in its first week, while demand for their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy from the Iconic Controller
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
