It has been 20 years since the legendary game first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Not literally, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that anyone who's nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break in front of an enthusiastic living-room audience.
Developed by Harmonix, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display synchronized to the music. Each riff mimicked specific notes, producing the feel of an authentic live show.
Harmonix had already experimented with rhythm games prior to teaming up with RedOctane, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series which made a significant influence for many of the artists featured, introducing classic groups to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the necessary permissions alone, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. But once the game took off, and record sales and radio play were going up, everyone wanted to be in.”
He adds: “One of the remarkable aspects was how many parents reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Gains a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer included their track on the 2008 game the popular installment. Lead musician the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “Guitar Hero provided a bigger, new demographic. Generally such music was considered outdated material, but then when it was included in the title young people discovered it, abruptly it became trendy. That legitimised the genre, and got rid of the outdated label. It provided all our music a new life.”
In 2008, the band's first record was still not available in the US, meaning the game served as a primary platform for exposure for the band during their US tour supporting AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in specialized game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and related lore, visuals and legendary status. In the case of, the Aerosmith edition, it was said to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than half a million copies in its first week, and sales of Aerosmith’s music rose significantly 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 featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult anthem made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive personalization features. This track is challenging even in the hardest setting, not to mention performed at double speed and without missing every one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring months of practice to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should pick up actual weapons and go to war,” says musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I recall our distributors informing us that we were records were moving rapidly,” he says. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero proved so vast that it threatened to eclipsing everything else accomplishments. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought differently, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear one DragonForce song, that's fine – each person has their own musical journey and I'm pleased we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Impact of a Plastic Guitar
The best marketing, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed humans have a natural urge to make music, and they wanted to use technology to allow people to participate”.
Most of Guitar Hero games were released over a mere five-year period between 2005 and 2010, including derivative titles like the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback several years later.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community alive, with expectations of a new product from the original publisher on the way. Recently formed developers has begun production on their first music game. The initial creators are participating as special advisers. Are gamers prepared to welcome a new entry in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought such titles might become similar to sports games allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much new music that it could be evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible why it can’t persist with new generations.”
