Marking 20 years since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, let alone played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact from the Plastic Guitar
The best 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 our team trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“We thought such titles could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to persist with new generations.”
