Marking 20 years after the legendary game debuted in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to become a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, introducing decades-old groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song because the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – RedOctane was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Generally this had been seen as outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided all our music a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained not available in the US, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of their songs rose significantly during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” says musician the artist.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that our selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
