It has been 20 years since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow on-screen cues scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
The studio previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a significant influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song because the cost prohibitive,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get bands like legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were pretty convinced it would fail. However, when the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated tag. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
The series continues to inspire quick-handed dedication among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is challenging even in the hardest setting, let alone performed at increased tempo and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I recall the record label informing us that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we performed right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else accomplishments. Recently, the song was used in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I thought differently, but now I accept it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further than selling something – it inspires a longing. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus on peripherals died down, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have kept the community alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. A new studio has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t continue with new generations.”
