Marking 20 years after the legendary game hit the market in North America, providing players everywhere the opportunity to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed convincing anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo before a packed crowd of friends.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to follow coloured notes scrolling down the display synchronized to a song. Each riff corresponded to specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by the gaming giant in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the foundations for a surprising massively profitable franchise which made a significant influence for many musicians included, introducing decades-old groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
Michael Dornbrook, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles in securing the songs – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he says. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get bands like the Who – the publisher had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain it would fail. But once the game became a hit, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for exposing their kids to the songs they adored. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Irish group one featured act had their track on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers how the series revived classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was seen as music that was past it, however when it was included in the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It gave our catalog renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late during travel, and some of them recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others featuring in dedicated game editions that focused on their music collections and associated lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the group greater revenue compared to their records. It sold more than half a million copies upon release, while demand for their songs rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, an online personality completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of personalization features. The song is difficult enough on expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed it took nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to pick up actual weapons and enlist,” says musician the artist.
DragonForce had already wrapped up a successful tour before Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into a household name. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that we were records were moving like crazy,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, the band's visibility from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song featured in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I felt differently, but now I accept it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own path in music and I'm pleased we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Iconic Controller
Top-tier promotion, be it for automobiles, clothes or games, goes further than selling something – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural urge to create songs, and their goal was to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released in just a five-year period from 2005 to 2010, including spin-offs like DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Games like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry following the classic?
“Our team believed those games could be similar to sports games where you can releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
