It has been 20 years after the legendary game debuted in North America, offering players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Figuratively speaking, though you'd be hard-pressed telling that someone who's mastered Free Bird’s lengthy guitar solo in front of a packed crowd of friends.
Developed by the developers, Guitar Hero provided users with a plastic guitar peripheral to match on-screen cues moving along the display in time with a song. Each riff mimicked specific notes, creating the sensation of a genuine performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games prior to teaming up with the publisher, later purchased by Activision in 2006. Collaboratively, they laid the groundwork for an unlikely massively profitable series that had a remarkable influence on numerous musicians featured, showcasing classic groups to millions of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO of Harmonix, recalls the initial budgetary hurdles of licensing the songs – even though initial releases primarily featured cover versions.
“We reproduced every song since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Even with the publishing rights by themselves, it was extremely difficult. We failed to secure 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, album purchases airtime increased, everyone wanted to participate.”
He adds: “Among the amazing things was the number of parents got in touch expressing gratitude for introducing their kids to the songs they adored. It evolved into an intergenerational phenomenon.”
Timeless Music Finds Younger Fans
Northern Irish group the Answer included Never Too Late on the 2008 game the popular installment. Guitarist the artist recalls the way the game revived classic rock back into vogue: “The game offered a bigger, younger audience. Generally this had been considered music that was past it, but then once it got featured on the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it became trendy. This validated it, eliminating the ‘dad rock’ tag. It provided all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the Answer’s debut album was still not available in the US, so the game was a key medium of discovery for the band during their a North American tour opening for the rock giants. “Their crew had on the song during travel, and some of them knew us from Guitar Hero,” Mahon says.
Rock’s Heavyweight Spin-offs and Lasting Influence
Music's heavyweight names quickly capitalised on the series’ popularity, with Aerosmith, Metallica and others starring in dedicated game editions centered around their music collections and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, reportedly to have made the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 units upon release, while sales of Aerosmith’s music saw an increase significantly at a time when the music business was already collapsing.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed fanaticism among its fans. Recently, a streamer achieved an impressive attempt featuring Through the Fire and Flames – an infamously tough power-metal song popularized through Guitar Hero – on Clone Hero, a no-cost alternative with similar gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult enough on expert mode, not to mention performed at increased tempo while hitting a single one of the thousands of cues. The streamer claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play other games, that doesn’t mean you ought to use actual weapons and go to war,” says DragonForce guitarist Herman Li.
The band previously wrapped up a profitable run when Through the Fire and Flames was featured on Guitar Hero III, but Li says it made them widely recognized. “I remember the record label informing us that we were selling albums rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged on the subsequent tour, and we were playing just before top acts on the Mayhem festival.”
In fact, the band's visibility via the game was so immense that it risked overshadow all other accomplishments. Recently, the song featured in promotional material for a major film. “In the past I thought otherwise, but now I accept it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – everyone’s got a unique musical journey and I’m glad we’ve been part of people’s lives”.
The Lasting Legacy of a Plastic Guitar
The best promotion, whether it’s for cars, apparel or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Was the game able to harness this? “Precisely what our team aiming to achieve,” Dornbrook says. “That thrill of performing as a rock star in the spotlight. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and their goal was to leverage innovation to allow people to participate”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, featuring spin-offs such as DJ Hero, complete with a turntable controller, and the band-focused game. After that, corporate focus in plastic instruments died down, except for a brief comeback in 2015.
Titles such as Clone Hero and Fortnite Festival have maintained the community active, and there’s expectations of a new product from the original publisher in development. Recently formed developers has entered work on their first music game. Original co-founders are participating in advisory roles. Is the world prepared to welcome another game following the classic?
“We thought those games could be similar to sports games allowing annual releases,” he remarks. “With abundant new music it could remain evergreen, so I’ve always been optimistic. It's entirely possible for it to persist for future fans.”
