It has been two decades since the legendary game hit the market in North America, providing players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, producing the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was purchased by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise that had a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song since the cost was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had their track in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist recalls how the series revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on each band’s catalogue and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the group more money than any of their records. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, and demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era as the industry faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive 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 stated requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Iconic Controller
The best marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most installments came out in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community active, with expectations of a new product from the founders in development. A new studio has entered work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed those games might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t continue for future fans.”
