Marking two decades since the legendary game debuted across the Atlantic, giving everyday gamers the means to feel like a rock star. Figuratively speaking, but try telling that anyone who's mastered the epic lengthy instrumental break in front of a packed living-room audience.
Created by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to follow coloured notes moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Each riff corresponded to particular chords, producing the feel of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand in the music genre prior to teaming up with the publisher, which was acquired by the gaming giant during the mid-2000s. Together, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar series that had a significant impact on numerous musicians included, showcasing classic bands to millions of younger players.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, recalls the early financial challenges in securing the songs – even though initial releases mostly used rerecorded tracks.
“We rerecorded every song since the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights alone, it proved extremely difficult. We failed to secure acts such as legendary groups – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when Guitar Hero became a hit, and record sales and radio play were going up, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was how many mothers and fathers reached out expressing gratitude for introducing their children to the songs they adored. It became an intergenerational thing.”
Classic Rock Finds a New Audience
Northern Irish blues-rock band the Answer had Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game brought classic rock to the forefront: “The game provided a larger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered outdated material, but then when it was featured on the game young people discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated it, and got rid of the outdated tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
In 2008, the Answer’s first record was still not available in the US, meaning Guitar Hero was a key medium of discovery for the band as they went on US tour opening for AC/DC. “The roadies had on the song on the tour bus, and several knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Influence
Rock’s biggest acts quickly capitalised on the game's success, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated spin-off titles centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and legendary status. For example, the Aerosmith edition, reportedly to have made the band more money compared to their records. It moved well over 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism within the community. Recently, a streamer achieved a remarkable feat featuring the challenging track – a notoriously difficult anthem popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a freeware game with similar mechanics and extensive customisation options. The song is challenging even in expert mode, let alone performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer stated requiring nine months to accomplish.
“Guitar Hero offers a, fantasy thing. Just as with other games, that doesn’t mean you should use a real gun and enlist,” notes musician the artist.
DragonForce previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it turned them into widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums like crazy,” he says. “It exploded when we next toured, and we were playing just before the headliners at the event.”
In fact, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “If you only hear a single track, that's fine – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role in fans' experiences”.
The Lasting Legacy from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, be it for automobiles, apparel or games, extends beyond mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what we were trying to create,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of being a rock star on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders felt that there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to use technology to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, corporate focus in plastic instruments waned, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have kept the scene alive, with set to be a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered production on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world prepared to welcome another game in the spirit of the classic?
“We thought those games might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” he remarks. “With abundant fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
