It has been 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, offering everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow on-screen cues moving along the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising massively profitable series which made a significant influence on numerous musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the early financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero took off, album purchases airtime were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act included Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought older hits to the forefront: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered music that was past it, however when it was included in the game and teenagers were finding it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and related lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved more than 500,000 copies in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music saw an increase of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging enough on the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should use a real gun and go to war,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I thought differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to persist for future fans.”
