Marking two decades after the legendary game debuted in North America, giving players everywhere the means to become a rock star. Not literally, but try telling that anyone who has nailed Free Bird’s lengthy instrumental break before an enthusiastic crowd of friends.
Developed by Harmonix, the game provided users with a guitar-shaped controller to match on-screen cues moving along the screen synchronized to the music. Every sequence corresponded to particular chords, creating the sensation of an authentic performance.
Harmonix had already tried its hand with rhythm games before partnering with RedOctane, later acquired by Activision during the mid-2000s. Collaboratively, they established the groundwork for an unlikely billion-dollar franchise which made a remarkable impact on numerous musicians featured, showcasing decades-old bands to a new generation of gaming enthusiasts.
A former executive, former COO from the developer, remembers the initial financial challenges of licensing the recordings – even though the first two games mostly used cover versions.
“We rerecorded all the music since the dollar figure prohibitive,” he explains. “Despite having the publishing rights by themselves, it proved extremely difficult. We couldn’t get acts such as legendary groups – the publisher was operating on a shoestring budget, and our team was fairly certain the project would flop. However, when the game took off, album purchases and radio play were going up, all artists desired to be in.”
He adds: “Among the remarkable aspects was the number of mothers and fathers reached out and thanked us for introducing their children to the music they loved. It became a multigenerational phenomenon.”
Classic Rock Gains a New Audience
Irish blues-rock band one featured act included their track in the 2008 release Guitar Hero World Tour. Guitarist the artist remembers the way the game brought classic rock back into vogue: “The game provided a bigger, younger audience. Generally such music was seen as music that was past it, but then when it was included in the title and teenagers discovered it, suddenly it was cool. This validated the genre, and got rid of the ‘dad rock’ tag. It gave all our music renewed popularity.”
At that time, the band's debut album was still not available stateside, meaning Guitar Hero served as a primary platform for exposure for the group during their US tour supporting the rock giants. “The roadies had on Never Too Late on the tour bus, and several recognized us thanks to the game,” he notes.
Rock’s Heavyweight Titles and Lasting Influence
Rock’s biggest acts soon took advantage of the game's success, including bands like Aerosmith, Metallica and Van Halen starring in dedicated game editions centered around each band’s catalogue and associated stories, imagery and rock’n’roll mythology. For example, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, it was said earned the band more money than any of their studio albums. It sold more than 500,000 copies upon release, while demand for Aerosmith’s music rose of up to 40% at a time when the music business faced decline.
Guitar Hero still motivates quick-handed dedication within the community. Recently, a streamer completed an impressive attempt of DragonForce’s the challenging track – a notoriously difficult power-metal song popularized through the game – using a fan-made version, a no-cost alternative with almost identical gameplay but an array of customisation options. This track is difficult even in expert mode, let alone played at double speed while hitting every one of the thousands of cues. They claimed requiring nine months of practice.
“The game offers a, fantasy thing. If you play Call of Duty, that doesn’t mean you ought to pick up a real gun and enlist,” notes musician Herman Li.
The band had already wrapped up a profitable run when their hit was featured on Guitar Hero III, yet he explains it made them widely recognized. “I remember our distributors informing us that our records were moving rapidly,” he shares. “Popularity surged when we next toured, and we were playing just before top acts at the event.”
Indeed, DragonForce’s exposure from Guitar Hero was so immense that it threatened to eclipsing everything else the band has done. Last year, the song was used in a trailer for Despicable Me 4. “Previously I thought otherwise, but I’ve made peace with it,” he admits. “Should you just hear a single track, it’s totally cool – each person has their own path in music and I'm pleased we played a role of people’s lives”.
Enduring Impact from the Plastic Guitar
Top-tier promotion, be it for cars, clothes or video games, goes further mere transactions – it evokes a desire. Did Guitar Hero tap into that? “Precisely what we were aiming to achieve,” he confirms. “That thrill of being a music icon on the stage. Since the beginning, the co-founders believed there’s an instinctive human desire to make music, and they wanted to leverage innovation to allow people to do it”.
The majority installments were released in just a half-decade between 2005 and 2010, including spin-offs such as the DJ version, complete with a turntable controller, and Band Hero. Subsequently, the publisher’s interest on peripherals died down, except for a short-lived revival several years later.
Titles like the fan project and newer releases have maintained the community active, and there’s set to be a new product from the original publisher on the way. A new studio has entered production on its debut rhythm-based title. Original co-founders are participating as special advisers. Is the world ready to embrace a new entry in the spirit of Guitar Hero?
“We thought such titles might become like Madden allowing annual update every year,” Dornbrook says. “There’s so much fresh tracks that it could be evergreen, thus I remain hopeful. There’s no reason why it can’t persist for future fans.”
