Marking 20 years after the legendary game first launched in North America, providing players everywhere the tools to become rock legends. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's mastered Free Bird’s four-minute guitar solo in front of an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, the game provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the display synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, creating the feel of a genuine live show.
The studio previously tried its hand in the music genre before partnering with RedOctane, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Together, they established the groundwork for a surprising billion-dollar series that had a remarkable impact on numerous of the artists 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 recordings – despite the fact initial releases mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded every song because the dollar figure was so high,” he says. “Despite having the necessary permissions alone, it was extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was pretty convinced it would fail. But once the game took off, and record sales airtime were going up, everyone wanted to participate.”
He continues: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents got in touch and thanked us for introducing their children to the songs they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist Paul Mahon remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero offered a larger, younger audience. Typically such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the band's debut album remained not available stateside, meaning the game was a key medium of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew had on Never Too Late during travel, and several recognized us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Spin-offs and Lasting Impact
Music's biggest acts quickly took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen featuring in specialized spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related lore, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the group more money compared to their records. It sold more than 500,000 units in its first week, while sales of their songs rose significantly at a time as the industry was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero continues to inspire nimble-fingered fanaticism among its fans. Earlier this year, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring the challenging track – an infamously tough anthem popularized through the game – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with almost identical mechanics but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult even in expert mode, not to mention played at double speed and without missing a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you ought to use actual weapons and enlist,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a profitable run when their hit appeared on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors calling to tell me that our selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we were playing right ahead of the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it has risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Recently, the track featured in a trailer for a major film. “In the past I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” Li says. “Should you just hear a single track, that's fine – each person has a unique musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Legacy of a Iconic Controller
Top-tier marketing, be it for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it inspires a desire. Did Guitar Hero harness this? “Precisely what our team trying to create,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the creators believed there’s an instinctive urge to create songs, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to do it”.
Most of Guitar Hero games came out over a mere half-decade from 2005 to 2010, including derivative titles like DJ Hero, complete with a spinning deck, and Band Hero. After that, corporate focus on peripherals waned, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as the fan project and newer releases have maintained the scene alive, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun work on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are both involved in advisory roles. Are gamers prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be perennially popular, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason for it to continue with new generations.”
