Marking two decades after the legendary game first launched in North America, giving players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a remarkable impact for many musicians included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the music they adored. It became an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the outdated tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group during their a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, while sales of 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 fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. This track is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of its near 4,000 notes. They stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
