It has been two decades since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, offering players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix previously tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series which made a remarkable influence for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic bands to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – the publisher had virtually no money, and we were fairly certain the project would flop. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Typically this had been considered outdated material, however when it was included in the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. That legitimised the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased stateside, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several knew us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the group greater revenue than any of their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era as the industry was already collapsing.
The series continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Recently, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with almost identical mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it has risked overshadow all other the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, apparel or games, extends beyond than selling something – it evokes a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games such as the fan project and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
