It has been two decades since the legendary game first launched across the Atlantic, providing players everywhere the means to feel like a rock star. Not in reality, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who has nailed the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the foundations for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence for many musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the necessary permissions by themselves, it proved nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game became a hit, album purchases airtime increased, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of parents reached out and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been seen as music that was past it, but then once it got included in the title and teenagers discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the outdated label. It provided our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record remained unreleased in the US, so the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around their music collections and associated lore, visuals and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band greater revenue compared to their studio albums. It moved well over half a million units upon release, and sales of their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game is a fun, fantasy thing. If you play other games, it doesn't imply you ought to use a real gun and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce had already completed a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured in the third game, yet he explains it made them a household name. “I remember the record label informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game 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 now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has a unique path in music and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, whether it’s for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a longing. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a music icon in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles such as the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like Clone Hero and newer releases have kept the scene active, with expectations of something from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered work on its debut music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry following the classic?
“We thought such titles could be like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue for future fans.”
