Marking 20 years since the legendary game debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the means to become rock legends. Not in reality, but try convincing anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s four-minute instrumental break in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
The studio had already experimented in the music genre before partnering with the publisher, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact for many musicians featured, introducing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, ex-chief operating officer from the developer, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon recalls the way the game brought older hits back into vogue: “The game offered a larger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album remained unreleased in the US, so the game was a key medium for exposure for the band during their a North American tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies were playing the song during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Impact
Rock’s heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions centered around their music collections and related stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money compared to their studio albums. It sold well over 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical gameplay and extensive personalization features. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at double speed and without missing every one of its near 4,000 notes. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero is a fun, imaginary experience. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes DragonForce guitarist the artist.
DragonForce had already completed 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 records were moving like crazy,” 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 proved so vast that it has threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the track was used in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, be it for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “That’s exactly what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “The excitement of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. 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 were released over a mere half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, including a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a brief comeback several years later.
Games such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have kept the scene alive, with set to be something from the founders on the way. A new studio has begun production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“Our team believed such titles could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible for it to continue with new generations.”
