It has been 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, offering players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a significant influence for many musicians included, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the early financial challenges of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once Guitar Hero took off, and record sales airtime increased, everyone wanted to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record was still unreleased in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in specialized spin-off titles centered around their music collections and related lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over half a million units in its first week, while sales of their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it turned them into a household name. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or video games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks it could remain perennially popular, so I’ve always been hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
