Marking two decades after the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who has mastered Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes scrolling down the screen synchronized to a song. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant impact for many of the artists featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of younger players.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges in securing the recordings – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He continues: “One of the amazing things was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Finds a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included Never Too Late in the 2008 release the popular installment. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated label. It gave all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group more money than any of their studio albums. It moved more than half a million copies in its first week, while sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly during an era as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, an online personality completed an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at increased tempo while hitting a single one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed it took 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 go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run before Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I recall our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it risked overshadow all other the band has done. Recently, the song was used in promotional material 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 – everyone’s got a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring spin-offs such as the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“Our team believed such titles could be like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. There’s no reason why it can’t persist with new generations.”
