It has been two decades since the legendary game hit the market in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and we were pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, however when it was featured on the game young people were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed just before the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely 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 human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
