Marking two decades since the legendary game hit the market across the Atlantic, providing everyday gamers the opportunity to feel like rock legends. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of a genuine live show.
Harmonix previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact for many musicians included, showcasing classic bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, remembers the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – despite the fact the first two games primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We failed to secure acts such as the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, album purchases airtime were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers got in touch expressing gratitude for exposing their children to the music they loved. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game revived older hits to the forefront: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as outdated material, however once it got featured on the game and teenagers were finding it, abruptly it was cool. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained not available stateside, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the band as they went on US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several knew us thanks to the game,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles and Lasting Impact
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in specialized game editions that focused on their music collections and associated stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly earned the group more money compared to their studio albums. It moved more than half a million units upon release, and sales of their songs saw an increase significantly at a time as the industry faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar gameplay and extensive personalization features. The song is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice of practice.
“The game is a fun, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you should pick up a real gun and enlist,” says 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 calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing all other accomplishments. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that humans have a natural human desire to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring derivative titles such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, and there’s expectations of something from the founders in development. Recently formed developers has begun work on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games might become similar to sports games where you can update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
