Marking 20 years after the legendary game hit the market in North America, offering players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has mastered the epic 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 match coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced all the music because the cost was so high,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch and thanked us for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series brought classic rock to the forefront: “Guitar Hero provided a larger, younger audience. Typically this had been seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's debut album was still not available in the US, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Music's biggest acts soon capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, it was said earned the band greater revenue compared to their records. It moved well over half a million units upon release, and sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, not to mention played at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you should use actual weapons and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
The band previously completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall the record label calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it has risked eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star in the spotlight. From day one, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to create songs, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, aside from a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with set to be a new product from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become like Madden where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be perennially popular, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
