Marking 20 years after the legendary game first launched in North America, giving everyday gamers the tools to feel like rock legends. Not in reality, but try telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Created by the developers, Guitar Hero gave players a plastic guitar peripheral to match coloured notes moving along the screen in time with the music. Each riff mimicked particular chords, creating the sensation of a genuine live show.
The studio previously experimented with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by the gaming giant in 2006. Together, they established the foundations for an unlikely billion-dollar series which made a significant influence for many musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, ex-chief operating officer of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the recordings – despite the fact initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced all the music because the dollar figure was so high,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it was nearly impossible. We couldn’t get acts such as the Who – RedOctane had virtually no money, and our team was pretty convinced the project would flop. However, when the game took off, and record sales and radio play increased, all artists desired to participate.”
He adds: “One of the amazing things was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their kids to the music they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational thing.”
Timeless Music Gains Younger Fans
Northern Irish blues-rock band one featured act had Never Too Late in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Lead musician Paul Mahon remembers how the series revived older hits to the forefront: “The game offered a bigger, new demographic. Typically such music was considered music that was past it, however once it got featured on the title young people discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ label. It provided our catalog a new life.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album remained unreleased stateside, so the game served as a primary platform of discovery for the group as they went on a North American tour supporting the rock giants. “Their crew were playing Never Too Late on the tour bus, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Major Band Titles Enduring Impact
Music's heavyweight names soon took advantage of the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated spin-off titles that focused on their music collections and related stories, visuals and legendary status. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money compared to their studio albums. It moved well over 500,000 units in its first week, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% during an era when the music business faced decline.
The series still motivates nimble-fingered dedication among its fans. Recently, a streamer completed a remarkable feat featuring Through the Fire and Flames – a notoriously difficult power-metal song made popular by Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar mechanics but an array of customisation options. The song is challenging enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at double speed while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. They stated it took months of practice to accomplish.
“The game offers a, imaginary experience. If you play Call of Duty, it doesn't imply you should pick up a real gun and go to war,” notes musician Herman Li.
DragonForce previously completed a successful tour when Through the Fire and Flames appeared in the third game, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our selling albums like crazy,” he shares. “It exploded on the subsequent tour, and we performed right ahead of top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in promotional material for a major film. “Previously I felt otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just listen to one DragonForce song, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got their own musical journey and I’m glad we played a role of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
Top-tier marketing, whether it’s for cars, clothes or games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to tap into that? “That’s exactly what we were aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “The excitement of performing as a rock star on the stage. From day one, the creators felt that humans have a natural human desire to make music, and they wanted to use technology to enable everyone to participate”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs like the DJ version, including a spinning deck, and the band-focused game. After that, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, aside from a short-lived revival in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and newer releases have maintained the community alive, and there’s set to be a new product from the founders on the way. Recently formed developers has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. The initial creators are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“Our team believed such titles might become like Madden allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “There’s so much new music it could remain evergreen, thus I remain optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to continue for future fans.”
