It has been two decades after the legendary game first launched in North America, providing everyday gamers the means to become rock legends. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing someone who's mastered the epic four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game gave players a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes scrolling down the screen in time with the music. Every sequence mimicked specific notes, creating the feel of a genuine performance.
The studio previously experimented in the music genre prior to teaming up with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise that had a remarkable impact for many musicians included, introducing decades-old bands to a new generation of younger players.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, remembers the early budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “Among the remarkable aspects was how many mothers and fathers got in touch and thanked us for exposing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer had their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, new demographic. Typically this had been considered outdated material, but then once it got featured on the game and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. That legitimised it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, so Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their a North American tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Rock’s heavyweight names soon capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for their songs saw an increase of up to 40% at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered fanaticism within the community. Earlier this year, an online personality achieved a remarkable feat of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song made popular by the game – using a fan-made version, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging enough on expert mode, let alone performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated requiring months of practice of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
The band had already completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing all other the band has done. Last year, the track featured in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “If you only listen to one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has a unique path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, extends beyond than selling something – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that there’s an instinctive urge to make music, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to do it”.
The majority of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period from 2005 to 2010, featuring derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival several years later.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers ready to embrace another game following Guitar Hero?
“We thought those games could be like Madden where you can releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music it could remain perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. It's entirely possible why it can’t continue with new generations.”
